An Untold Story
by PineappleFairy69
Summary: Taking a look at Alaude's background story and what has happened to him before he joined the Vongola. Contains a lot of headcanons, some own characters, violence, drama and action.
1. Prologue

So this is my fanfiction about the First Cloud Guardian, Alaude, telling his background story. Since we do not know that much about the Prima anyway and since I am rather interested in Alaude I decided to write a story about him.

I tried to include everything we do actually know about him, but since it isn't that much I also included a lot of headcanons and some own characters. So please be aware of that while reading!

I've only uploaded the prologue so far and I know it is pretty short, but I'll upload the first chapter as soon as possible (and I promise it will be much longer). However I first wanted to see if there are actually any people out there that would be interested in a fanfiction like that.

Please don't judge my English too hard. I reread the story, but English isn't my mother tongue so there might still be some mistakes in it.

Well, for now I hope you'll enjoy the prologue and later on the whole story.

I'd also be glad to get some reviews so please don't hesitate to tell me what you liked and what you didn't like that much.

Thank you very much =)

* * *

**Prologue**

The blonde haired man was sitting in his office at a big wooden table. In front of him several papers and documents were piled up, creating a rather busy atmosphere. And indeed the man was working eagerly although it was already dark outside. However, summertime in Trappeto was always hot and since it hadn't become cooler the man had decided to keep working. It would have been impossible for him to sleep anyway.

Suddenly a soft knock on the door disturbed his work. He looked up, his blue eyes glancing coldly, while he was wondering about the person who was bothering him that late.

"Yes, please." He said with a harsh but smooth voice. The door opened and another blonde haired man entered the room, but unlike the one on the table, his hair was a bit messy and spikey.

"Primo. What is it?" The one on the table asked while putting his pen aside, giving the other one a cool but attentive look.

"You are still working?" Giotto wondered, examining the piles of paper on the desk.

"Yes." There was nothing more the blonde said. He wasn't fond of excuses or justifications and he never said more than necessary. Giotto sighed quietly. Sometimes he wished it was easier to talk to his Cloud Guardian.

"You aren't asleep yet either." Alaude suddenly added, making Giotto look rather puzzled.

"Well, I went to bed, but it was too warm, so I got up again to get something to drink. That's when I saw the light under your door." The smaller man explained with a soft voice. Probably he had already said too much for his Guardian.

"I see." Alaude answered shifting his eyes to the document in front of him. Giotto understood the meaning of this.

"I'll let you work then. But you shouldn't overdo it, Alaude." The answer to this was just a short and slightly cold noise, so Giotto turned around and left his Guardian alone. He probably was the only one from the Vongola who knew the most about the Cloud Guardian and of course his intuition helped him a lot as well, but still he found it difficult to understand the man's thoughts without any problems. He was sure life had made Alaude to the person he was right now and yet he wondered what had happened that there was a person so silent, solitary, hard-working and righteous like him.


	2. Silent

So here's finally the first chapter of my fanfiction.

Hope you'll enjoy it and I'd be happy to get some reviews on it so I'll know what you guys actually think about it ;)

Thank you very much and take care everyone =)

* * *

**Silent**

"Father! Look at that! I received 100% in my arithmetic test!" The small blonde haired boy quickly entered the library where his father was still working. Although he knew his father didn't like noise that much he couldn't hide his excitement. The tall man gave his son a disapproving glance. "Philippe! Calm down! It is truly disrespectful to bust in the room of someone, telling unnecessary things."

The boy immediately stopped and the smile on his lips faded away. He thought that his father maybe would have been proud enough to accept the little noise he made, but instead he still didn't seem to appreciate it. Pride and excitement vanished and instead the boy became silent. "I am sorry, father."

The man still examined his son in a rather inflictive way. "Don't you remember the values I told you? You shouldn't give in to your feelings like that. Go on, repeat what I've taught you."

The boy straightened his back and looked his father in the eyes.

"Success is not something you need to talk about, because it is achieved silently. Silence, on the other hand, gives you the strength to control yourself and self-control gives you the ability to gain success."

The tall man nodded. "So how do you tell me about your success?"

The eight year old boy gave himself a second to breathe in. Then he stepped forward and handed the paper over to his father without making a comment at all. Silently he watched his father's eyes examining the paper until he nodded. "Good." he said and returned the sheet to his son who waited for a second out of respect before he left the library without making any noise.

_**France – Paris – 3rd March 1862**_

_I made father angry again. Although he always kept telling me the values I forgot them again. Maybe it would be a good idea to write the values down so I won't forget them again. I can read them every day. I can also add more values or things I am doing wrong. Then I will not forget them and I will not repeat them. I will write everything down from every day. The teacher told me that something like this is called a diary. I will start a diary._

"_Success is not something you need to talk about, because it is achieved silently. Silence, on the other hand, gives you the strength to control yourself and self-control gives you the ability to gain success."_

_It is truly disrespectful to say unnecessary things._

_Philippe_

* * *

Philippe Juste was sitting at the large writing desk in the library working on his arithmetic exercises. Although the ten year old already had finished his homework he still kept working. After all, his father was working all the time as well. Later on he would keep on studying English. Although he had started with the new language about a year ago he already was capable of using basic grammatical structures and had a vocabulary of about almost 1.500 different words. He was already thinking of starting to study a third language. Maybe Spanish or Italian.

Madame Claire entered the room carrying a tablet with tea and cookies. She put it on the desk next to Philippe's documents, giving him a warm smile. She was an old lady doing the household at their place. However, Philippe always felt like she was trying to nurse him. "Philippe, it is such a nice day. Why are you not going outside, meeting some young fellows?" She asked stroking his blonde soft hair. The boy gave her a sour face since he truly disliked the way she treated him and additionally he hated being touched like this.

"I'm working." He simply stated and kept on solving the tricky exercise.

Madame Claire sighed. "My boy, you are just ten years old. Don't you think you are working too much? It is enough that your father is always busy. What is it you are doing anyway? I thought you've finished your work about two hours ago."

Philippe sighed. Like that he wouldn't be able to solve the exercise at all. He turned around to the old maid, giving her a rather cold look.

"Madame Claire, I am busy. Please, would you mind stop bothering me?"

That was all he said and it was enough. Saying too much would be disrespectful and unnecessary. However, Madame Claire just sighed and left the room, shaking her head. This ten year old boy already behaved like an adult. It was horrifying.

The blonde boy sighed and turned his attention to his tricky arithmetic exercise again when he heard the doorbell ringing. However, since Madame Claire would take care of it he did not have to stop working again.

He finally solved the problem, smiling slyly about his success when there was a loud noise, coming from the hallway. Irritated Philippe got up and left the library to check what the matter was. But what he saw made him pausing in shock.

"Monsieur Juste, please stop any resistance and come with us. You are accused for treason and we are allowed to bring you to the police station by using force if necessary." One police officer said to his father who was incredibly calm.

"I do not understand the reason. I have never betrayed the French Police nor the Government." He answered glaring at the four officers.

"As I said you are accused for treason. Everything else will be dealt with at the police station." The man stepped closer trying to put handcuffs on his father who suddenly got angry, pushing the man backwards.

"I have not done anything like treason!" He claimed, stopping another officer trying to detain him.

"That is enough Monsieur Juste!" The first police officer said again and they charged at him all together, being able to overwhelm the strong mean, putting the handcuffs on him.

"Monsieur Juste you are arrested, you know your rights. Everything else will be dealt with at the station!" The officer shouted and they pushed the screaming and raging boy's father outside.

Philippe was not able to understand the scene. This was just totally wrong. There was no chance his father had done something that justified an arrest.

He was not able to move until suddenly Madame Claire came, pulling him in a soft embrace.

"Hush, my boy." She said with a creaky voice. „Everything will be alright." She tried to calm the pale boy down, stroking over the blonde hair. However this time Philippe did not even notice it.

_**France – Paris – 11th October 1863 **_

_Madame Claire was not right. Nothing went alright. Today on the sixth day of the arrest of my father a police officer came to our house. He said my father had strangled himself. He also said he had left a letter, telling them that he could not live any longer with the accusation of treason and that he wouldn't wait for them to sentence him._

_Treason. I do not know the word treason. So I looked it up in a dictionary. It says treason is the crime of helping your country's enemies or of trying to destroy your country's government. I do understand this. But I do not understand why they accused my father of treason. He was a loyal man and he would have never betrayed the French police, the government or France itself._

_However, no one believed my father so far except for me._

_So I will make sure they will realize their fault._

_I swear to that._

_Philippe_

* * *

Philippe entered the book store near the main station and took a look around. He was impressed by the amount of books in here. He recognized many important authors and poets, but he also noticed many non-fiction and school books.

He was just about to take a closer look at one of the books when a man grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you trying to steal? Get out of here, child. I don't need any harassers from the orphanage." He gave Philippe a fearful glare, but the young boy remained calm.

"I am not trying to steal anything. I just wanted to take a closer look at it. I haven't read Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream so far. I only had Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet." He answered.

"You really know these books?" The shopkeeper lifted an eyebrow and examined Philippe warily. "I don't believe you, child. How old are you? Twelve years old maybe? You shouldn't even know who Shakespeare is."

"I am only eleven years old and yes I do know Shakespeare. He's one of my favourites. I've even already read the original pieces."

"You really are trying to make fun of me. Get away now or I'll call the police so that they'll bring you back home. I bet they aren't that nice to thievish children at the orphanage who are brought back by the police."

"Please, Monsieur. I just want to read some books and learn more languages and mathematics. But at the orphanage they don't have that many books so it is hard to learn something."

The man hesitated and looked at the young boy sceptically. In fact this young man was at least very polite and he didn't seem to be as dumb as the other orphans he had met.

"I don't think I can help you. You cannot even pay for the books." He finally said and turned around, but Philippe didn't give up.

"I know, Monsieur, that's why I thought I could give you a hand in here. You don't have to pay me anything, just let me read some of the books from time to time."

Again the man looked at the boy and into his icy blue eyes which had a very strong and self-confident look. Yet he shook his head. He had no use for a boy. In the end he would probably just betray him and steal some of the books anyway.

"_Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed_."

Silence ruled in the book store when Philippe had finished speaking and with every second the boy got a little bit more nervous. This would be his only chance in order to get his hands on more books and in order to be able to learn more.

Finally the man turned around, giving him a thoughtful look.

"Your English is pretty good and it seems like you've really read Shakespeare's Othello." He said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Come back here tomorrow at eight o'clock and don't be late."

"Yes, Monsieur." It was hard for Philippe to hide his joy, but he managed to do it and just turned around in order to leave the book store as silently as he had entered it. Now he would be able to read again and to learn even more. There was still so much he wished to know.

But for now he would return to the orphanage where he had to live at the moment since he had no living relatives left.

_**France – Paris – 3rd December 1864**_

_It seems like Monsieur Dupont kind of really is trusting me now. So far I was allowed to read the books at the store as long as I did a good work during the day and since I worked very hard every day he also was always satisfied._

_However today he gave me one of the books and said I could take it with me as long as I would bring it back again. I promised I would take good care of the book and treat it with respect. Like that I will be able to learn even more. It will make things easier._

_Besides there is a person I would like to know more about. I've read Monsieur Dupont's newspaper and there again was an article about that private detective from Saint Tropez. He seems to be quite successful and has solved three rather difficult cases this year. But before I can meet up with him I need to come up with a good and realistic plan. Otherwise I doubt I'll be able to convince him, although so far I never had problems in convincing the adults. This, however, is a very important step and a private detective surely is more intelligent than most of the people I've met during the last years. I need to proceed with caution._

_First I will think through everything and of course I will keep an eye on the activities of the private detective. Then I will try to get in touch with him and maybe, if everything goes well, I might be able to leave this place and start with my actual goal._

_Philippe_

* * *

The young blonde boy examined the one sitting opposite to him. The well-known private detective Luc Barre just had arrived from Saint Tropez an hour ago and it already seemed like he had found the man he was looking for. He was intelligent and a professional and he seemed to be very interested in what Philippe Juste had to offer him.

More interesting though was probably the fact that the boy was just about 13 years old and already had a clear goal and a realistic conception. Not to mention that this young boy had found out everything about him in no time on his own.

"Well, Monsieur Barre, what do you think about it?" Philippe asked pouring more tea into the cup of his guest.

A light smile appeared on Luc's face. The tall middle-aged man surely was interested. This boy was convincing.

"You see, this is very interesting and attempting. However, I'm wondering why you want me to join in your plans." The man responded, taking a sip of the hot tea.

Philippe nodded knowingly. "Of course, but you see I need a partner not only with knowledge but also with experience. Additionally you seem trustworthy and I suppose so far people would not take me seriously since I am too young yet."

Luc understood what the blonde boy meant. People tended to underestimate other people according to her age. However, this young fellow surely was incredible and interesting. Everything he had told him so far seemed plausible and elaborated.

"Additionally I have got a major problem which I will have to get rid of first, otherwise I won't be able to achieve anything." Philippe suddenly added, examining the private detective.

"And you think I will be able to solve this problem?" The man wondered. "What is it I can do?"

"You see since my father's death I have spent time in this orphanage, not being able to make use of the money my father has passed on to me and the same goes for my father's house, because I'm underage." Philippe started to explain.

Although Luc already understood the meaning behind this he waited for the young boy to go ahead.

"I would love to make use of the money and the house in order to get the secret service running, but as long as I don't have a warden I won't be able to do so." The blonde boy finished his explanation and inquiringly looked at the private detective who slowly nodded.

"I think I know what you are after. You want me to adopt you, isn't that right?"

"Yes, indeed it is. Since I am rather clever and have a good heritage there were many interested people who actually wanted to take me in, but I fear I would not be able to start my project with the wrong person taking care of me. Of course, the wardship would just take place on paper and I can guarantee you will be made up for taking care of this."

Luc watched the child interested. He was sure that Philipp had thought very carefully about this and since the boy was only 13 it was quite impressing. Nevertheless the man took some time to give this a thought. He had no family so it wouldn't be a problem to move to Paris and it sure would be fine for him to take the wardship. Additionally business had been bad last year since it had become hard to gain information on his own.

"A secret service." Luc repeated with a thoughtful look on his face. "Independent of the police, the army and other security forces. This is quite tempting." He gave Philippe another gaze. Then he smiled.

„Monsieur Juste, I think I will support your organization as much as necessary and of course I will take immediate care of your little problem. This is just the change and the challenge I have waited for."

Philippe noted his success in silent joy. Now he had just gained the support he needed to start his project. Since the death of his father it had been his goal to find the culprit behind the real treason that had happened years before. However he soon had realized he could not count on the police he still thought his father had been guilty, so it was necessary to deal with this by him.

He shook Luc Barre's hand sealing the deal between them and laying the cornerstone for an amazingly powerful organization.

_**France – Paris – 9th February 1868**_

_Luc has done a great job. In these few months we have established a headquarters which is right here in my father's house. Additionally he has found two more volunteers. The first one is a police officer of Scotland Yard in London called Mister White. He has left the police, because he did not agree with their idea of justice._

_The second one is a young man, a bit older than I. His name is Julien Lestroit. He seems to be righteous and loyal and also has lost someone innocent to the law._

_Thanks to Luc's contacts we were able to solve our first case a few days ago. It was nothing difficult or important, but it was work and my small team has done a fine job._

_Tomorrow Mister White and I will travel to England. Scotland Yard has contacted him and asked him for help in solving a case. They are not allowed to deal with it alone because an officer of Scotland Yard seems to be involved so they will need help with it. Mister White has given me the idea to make use of this to establish another branch of our secret service in England and he is right. This will grant us more possibilities and increase our operating distance. Additionally it will be easier to deal with country issues when we are on the spot._

_I actually don't want to leave the headquarters alone for such a long time, but on the other hand I am certain that Luc and Julien will do a fine job._

_Philippe_

* * *

The two men sat in the cab while outside it was raining. It was a really wet summer and since they had arrived in London the weather had been like that. Additionally they hadn't made any progress at all. This was quite a difficult case and Mister White contacts hadn't helped so far. Additionally Scotland Yard had demanded great confidentiality what made it even more difficult for the two of them.

The cab finally stopped and Philippe looked outside, examining the run down surrounding.

"Is that it?" He asked lightly bugged.

"Yes, that's Whitechapel. We'll meet my man over there. But I must warn you this is a rough place and the stuff that's going on is not right legal." Mister White opened the small cabin door of the cab and Philippe turned up the collar of his trench coat which he had bought after their arrival in London. He had liked this new fashion although he normally did not pay that much attention to it. But these trench coats were just very useful since they had a lot of pockets.

"I don't care what these people are actually doing as long as they have good information for us." The young men answered, getting off the cab. Mister White followed him silently and quickly paid the cab driver before he led his young boss to the shabby building.

Although it was raining they already heard voices from behind the wooden door and when Mister White opened it the voices grew to a huge noise.

Men were shouting and cheering while standing in a circle around two men, standing in an arena, fighting each other.

Phillipe immediately realized that gambling and boxing was the illegal part Mister White had mentioned before. Well, he couldn't care less about something like that, after all they were not here to gamble but to gain information.

The air was full of cigarette smoke and the scent of liquor and beer. Although Philippe at least hated the scent of cigarettes that didn't affect him at all and he kept examining the surroundings.

"Where is your man?" He asked Mister White, showing his impatience.

"Easy, Philippe. My contact man does not like to be pushed and the people here also just want to enjoy the fights and relay. Starting a hurry might have a bad effect."

Philippe knew Mister White was right and yet he was annoyed. Relaxing was for lazy people. He wanted to work.

His eyes moved around anxiously as they stopped, watching the fight that was going on. There were two young men in the circle, even in height and weight. However Philippe soon knew who would be winning. The black haired man was sparkling with energy whereas his eyes were secure. He easily avoided the attacks of the other one and fought back with hard hits.

However something bother Philippe and that was the fact the man did not make use of more precise hits. The blonde man was sure although he probably weighed less than this boxer he would win a fight.

Suddenly the black man hit his opponent right into the face and the other one went to the ground.

"Knuckle's the winner!" A slim man shouted, lifting the black haired man's hand. Philippe rolled his eyes. Knuckle seemed to be the man's fighting name. How uncreative.

"This is the guy." Mister White said, pointing to the circle.

"Seriously? This boxer?" Philippe asked, giving his comrade a disapproving glance.

But Mister White shook his head.

"No the other one. He arranges the fights and earns a lot of money with them. He will give us the information." He quickly explained and led Philippe through the crowd towards the slim man who was still talking to the boxer.

"Hugh, old man! How's business!" Mister White said as they came near the two. The slim man looked up and grinned.

"Bob, haven't seen you for ages." He pointed at the crowd. "As you can see business is great. How can I help you?"

Philippe examined not only the slim man but also the grinning boxer who was standing next to Hugh. The well trained body showed him that this guy had been boxing for a long time now. Probably he had started as a young kid.

"Straight to the point. That's the Hugh I know." Mister White smiled and shook Hugh's hand. "Well you see I thought you might be able to give us a hand with something." He shoved some bills into Hugh's pocket. "Have you ever heard of Sam McBrighton?"

Hugh's face darkened lightly, but then he smiled.

"Bob, do you understand what you are asking for? I heard this is a tricky thing for Scotland Yard and you know that I am not very best friends with them."

Mister White nodded and was just about to hand more money over as Philippe got distracted by the boxer named Knuckle.

"Yeh, this is the first boxing fight you attend to?" The young man grinned. Philippe did not.

"None of your business." He simply answered while Mister White and Hugh still were talking.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to. I was just wondering. You don't seem to be English. You're from Germany?"

"I don't think it does matter where I am from."

"Jeez, you are not that talkative, are ya? Just mean to be friendly. Is this your first trip to London? You like it so far?"

Philippe blinked at him with slight anger. He hated annoying people so much and this kind of person was just the one he could not stand.

"I think I already mentioned that this is none of your business. Now, could you be so kind to stop bothering me."

It was not a question. It was a demand. But the boxer did not seem to understand that.

"Easy, man. People are here to have fun, not to fight."

"Well are they? To me it rather seems like they actually just come for the fight and you are even more the fighter."

"Man, don't take it so serious. Of course boxers come here to fight. But I meant that in another sense. You really are weird."

"Well, probably you should just express yourself more precisely."

Of course Philippe hadn't understood this wrong, but he actually wanted to stop this conversation. This guy was a nuisance. He was here on business not for a small talk.

"You really are an aggressive one. Maybe you should start boxing, too. Helps ya to get rid of aggression, you know? And it's a good training."

"I am not aggressive." Philippe responded rather aggressive.

Therefore Knuckle just smiled and Philippe got mad. This smile was mocking him and that was something he could not stand. "However, I do not need training since I am already well trained and I could beat any of you boxers without any problems."

"Whoa, that's quite ..."

"... intriguing!" Hugh examined Philippe and gave him a slim smile. "You say you can beat any of my boxers?"

"Yes." Philippe simply stated while Mister White looked at him in disbelief.

"Well then, how about you fighting my best man and you gaining some nice information?"

Philippe looked into Hugh's eyes and he knew that the man would not betray them. It was deal and Philippe accepted.

"Fair enough. We have a deal."

Now even Knuckle looked like a dumb little puppy.

"Man you are crazy. Billy has never lost a fight so far." He said, earning an angry look from Hugh.

"I cannot see how this is actually relevant to me." Philippe looked at Hugh. "I will fight. Go and get your Billy and prepare to give us the information and the money. We will not pay you twice."

The slim man just nodded and turned around. "Knuckle, go show him the place where he can get changed." He asked the tall boxer, who just shook his head.

"You guy are crazy and hot-headed." He said, turning around and showing them the way.

Mister White also seemed to be worried, as he laid his hand on Philippe's shoulder.

"Philippe, please think over this again. These guys know no rules."

"I will consider that."

"But, Philippe. I am sure we can get the information on another way.

"But this is the easiest."

And with that the blonde young man fell silent.

A couple of minutes later he found himself in the fenced circle. He could taste the dust from the ground which was lightly stained with blood. Just like his opponent Philippe was only wearing his pants revealing an actually well trained body.

However there were some differences between him and Billy. The man in front of him was wearing bandages around his fingers so he would not break them that easily. And the man in front of him was bigger than him. He almost looked like a bull.

Yet the blonde young man did not seem to be concerned. He rather examined his opponent silently while the mass around them went crazy.

"Philippe, you should really think this over again." Mister White started another try to stop his young boss from fighting, but Philippe did not even seem to listen.

"You better bet on the right person." He simply stated and moved closer towards the boxer.

Mister White sighed what made Hugh laugh who was standing right next to him.

"This boy is really something. Either he is insane or naïve or maybe even both." The slim man said, giving him a pat on the neck.

"Unfortunately I think he is neither, though I do not know what he is. This boy is special." Mister White shoved his money into Hugh's hand. "And he's probably got a point although I guess he did not really mean me to bet the money."

"What? You seriously bet all your money on a sixteen year old boy?" Hugh looked at him in disbelief but mister White smiled.

"Well, my lad, he's got to be my boss for some reason, right? Maybe you underestimate him."

"Maybe, maybe not. We will see as soon as Billy is finish with him."

And with that Hugh gave the signal for the fight to start and although Mister White wanted to trust in the blonde man he was not quite sure whether this had been a good idea.

Philippe saw the very first blow coming and easily avoided it. Also the second one was no problem for him. That boxer probably had the strength to knock him over at once but he was slow. Therefore Philippe started in a defensive way. He just avoided the hits and sometimes used his hands and arms to deflect the large man's blows.

Although the people around him were extremely loud he did not hear anything since he only concentrated on his opponent. He was searching for weak spots and found them easily. Since this guy relied on his strength he did not care much for covering.

Philippe took his time, waiting for the right moment and there it was.

The boxer took a step back in order to haul off and therefore his side was wide open. He quickly examined the body and then placing a precise strike in the side of the man, breaking one of his rips.

Irritated the boxer missed with his next attacked. But Philippe knew that a broken rip would not stop this guy from fighting. Again he was watching the movements. This man was so slow it was almost tiring, but Philippe needed to be concentrated. Again he avoided some of the boxers attack and then placing another strike and with that starting an amazing counter attack. His first strike hit the sternum, making the man gasp for air. That little second have Philippe enough time to break his opponents nose. Quickly he avoided the angry counter attack until he was able to catch the right arm of the taller one. He twisted it around, breaking it with an ugly noise.

The boxer howled using his healthy arm to make a hit, but again Philippe evaded any contact, moving around as elegant as a cat.

Since Billy now was not able to cover his right side Philippe made use just of this. He jumped forward, using his flat hand to precisely hit one point of the body which was nothing but the larynx and to the surprise of the whole crowd the huge massive man just fell over unconsciously.

It was silent in the run down building, while Philippe left the circle and stopped next to Hugh.

"You owe us." He simply said and went on to get to the other room to get his shirt and the trench-coat.

"Well." Mister White started to break the silence. "I guess he is right. You really owe us." And he opened his hand in order to receive the money he had just won. From now on he would always bet on his boss.

_**France – Paris – 27th June 1869**_

_I returned to Paris while Mister White stayed in London. We were able to establish a branch there and it's going rather well._

_Meanwhile Julien and Luc have been rather busy, too. Luc has looked for more promising members of the secret service. Monsieur Chapeaux, a doctor, has fulfilled these conditions and he's glad to help us. But Luc is about to look for even more fitting candidates. I think this is going to work out well._

_Julien on the other hand went to Spain. Luc has a trustworthy informant in Barcelona and we hope that Julien will be able to get him on our side. A Spanish branch in Barcelona would be unpayable since it also has a large harbour._

_As soon as possible I will travel to Austria. Austria and France have been connected for ages now and I think it would be a good idea to establish the secret service there as well. I know my father has an old friend in Vienna and I think I will be able to persuade him to help us. Not that we might be able to expand the secret service even more, but I think he might also have some valuable information on the betrayal of my father._

_Philippe_


	3. Solitary

**Solitary**

Philippe was standing at the window, looking at the snow-covered fir trees in front of the house. On the other side of the room there was a fire burning on the fireplace, warming the inside of the house.

"So you say it cannot be avoided?" The blonde young man seemed to be concerned and it really was something to actually get him to be concerned.

He watched some small birds jumping from one snow-covered branch to the next.

"Yes. If France wants to fight Prussia will not hesitate." The man that was sitting on the armchair next to the fireplace ordered some documents and placed them on the table next to him. "And the Austrian branch just send me the message that Austria will not join France. They will stand alone if they really want to start this fight."

Philippe turned around, now watching the man.

"Herr Maier, I want you to send a telegram to Monsieur Barre. Tell him about the circumstances he might be able to reach some of his contacts. I know there is less hope, but maybe a war will be anticipated."

The man didn't say anything, but Philippe knew what he was thinking. Who was he to actually think he could convince Napoleon III not to start a war? His secret service had been growing and besides headquarters in France and England they now also had one in Spain and the German Empire and they were at it to establish another one in Austria.

Yet, they did not have the power to interfere in political subjects of that size.

"Philippe, are you sure about this? I think we could try harder. Please let me go to Vienna. I will try to work with our people there to at least convince the government to support us if there will be a war." A brown haired young man suddenly sat, getting up from another armchair.

"No, Julien, I doubt this will work out. The government from Austria does not even know our organization exists so far. They will not listen to our word." The blonde looked at Julien Lestroit for a moment. The young man sure had worked hard the last few month and Philipp knew he could rely on him any time but this was just an impossible task.

"But isn't it unlikely that they will not support France in war? After all we have supported each other many times. Why not this time?"

Philippe sighed and again looked out of the window. He actually did not like the German Empire, though the fir trees looked pretty nice with their winter coats.

"Julien, they have reasons for rejecting their support. After all France will not be able to win this fight. However, it is true that some strange happenings occurred in that case, yet we have to concentrate on the upcoming war. We can investigate this later. For now we will return to France. We've got a lot to do."

The young man just nodded and sat down again. After all Philippe was the boss and probably he was right. Although was a bit older than Philippe he was amazed by his intelligence and physical power. He had learnt a lot from him and he owed him a lot. On the other hand he knew that Philippe respected him very much, at least he and Luc and Mister White were the only people allowed calling Philippe by his first name. It was almost an honour.

"However, Herr Maier, please send the message to the French branch and also send it to England and Spain. I want everybody be warned for the upcoming."

"Of course, Monsieur Juste." The man said and got up. "I will go to Frankfurt to the telegram station myself."

"You should install one in the house. It's far to the city." Philippe turned around again and took some of the documents from the table.

"We are already planning to." Herr Maier said. "Do you want to leave today? I will led Bernhard know so he can take you to the train station."

Philippe nodded. "Please be so kind."

The other man nodded and left the room while Julien got up.

"So we will leave today, I guess I will go ahead and get the luggage ready in that case." The young man said, moving towards the door.

"Please do so." Philippe responded, staying in the room on his own. His eyes were thoughtfully focused to the documents in his hands and he wished they would just tell him what to do, but they remained silent.

_**France – Paris – 29**__**th**__**September 1870**_

_It has been a couple of weeks now since France has lost the war and Napoleon III has been imprisoned. However the declaration of the third republic makes an end of this war impossible. Today I received a message from our German branch that they won't end the war as long as France still has men fighting and weapons to fight._

_It's true France has got impressive weapons in this war, but the German army is just much stronger._

_I fear they will try to enter Paris. If it comes to this we will have no other chance, but to defend the city. Since our main headquarters is located here we have parlous information in the house and I don't want German soldiers to receive those information._

_At best they would see these documents as treason of our men in the German Empire and our German branch would be in danger. But I suppose that's the best situation._

_Time is too short to clear the main headquarters, so we will have to wait and see._

_I set all the other branches on caution and send most of the people away from Paris. Only Julien, Monsieur Barre and Monsieur Chapeaux are left._

_I hope we will have no reason to join the French soldiers._

_Philippe_

* * *

The air was filled with dust and it smelled burnt and bloody. Loud detonations and shots could be heard making the ground vibrating. The area where the French soldiers were stationed had been under attack since this morning. The German soldiers on the other hand kept on pushing forward. The outer suburbs of Paris were already under their control. Now it was just a matter of time until they would be able to break through the next barrier, getting another step closer to enter Paris.

Philippe was hunkering down behind a barrier built up from broken buildings. His uniform was dirty and in his hands he was carrying a Chassepot rifle like the other soldiers around him. He and his comrades had been fighting the German soldiers since this morning. However they were tired and almost out of munitions. The man operating the huge Mitrailleuse had been shot and so it was even harder to keep the enemy on distance.

For hours they were waiting for support know but nothing happened except for the enemies attacks. However right now it seemed to be calmer, although this probably would not stay long. Julien came closer, placing himself next to Philippe.

"They sure are taking their time, aren't they?" He said, giving the blonde a grim smile.

"I'm sure this won't be for long." he answered, throwing a glance behind the barrier. "I just don't understand why the commander does not occupy the Mitrailleuse again. I'm sure one man would be able to reach it as long as the others would grant him rear cover."

"Philippe, I know you're a brilliant man, but I suppose the commander has reasons."

Just as the two man were talking a third one came closer.

"Hey, your both okay?" he asked silently. The two man just nodded. "Listen, the commander said that we will retreat soon. We don't have enough munitions and without the Mitrailleuse we cannot hold out for much longer."

"Retreat?" Philippe looked at the soldier in disbelief. "Why don't we just take the Mitrailleuse again. There is no reason for retreat yet."

"I just brought the order this was not my decision, although I'm glad we will retreat. I don't want to die here and we won't be able to keep position anyway. Besides we are fighting here just because our government started a war. They could just resign that would prevent more people to die, don't you think so?" It was clear the man was tired of fighting although most of the soldiers here just had signed as soon as the German soldiers had started to occupy Paris. They were merely trying to protect their city and their families. Philippe was sure that the war would not just end here, the people of Paris and France were in rage since they gave their lives for the fault of some stubborn leaders. He was sure a civil war would follow.

However right now they had different problems to worry about and Philippe did not understand why they should just give up like that.

"So you rather would run than fight? We are still here and we still have weapons. There is no reason for a retreat we can still do it." He insisted eagerly. So far he had never given up, not even when the war had started and also not when Paris had been occupied. He and Julien even accepted to fight alongside the soldiers to protect Paris although there of course was a more private reason since they mainly had to protect their headquarters. If they would retreat know it would be even harder to keep protecting it. There was only one other possibility and Philippe actually wanted to avoid it.

"Philippe we are not in position of giving orders and we without any doubt not in the position to disobey them. Let us just retreat for now as the commander wishes." Julien tried to calm his boss and friend down. He knew that Philippe hated to give up on something but right here in this place they were not working for the secret organization but someone else. Although Philippe obviously had problems in fulfilling other peoples' orders he just had to accept this for at least one time.

"No, Julien, I am sure we can do that. If we take the Mitrailleuse we can keep the position for two more hours, maybe even during the night." A dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. "I will not let this chance go."

And with this words he got up and went over the barricade. The Mitralleuse was just twenty feet far. He was sure he could make it.

The blonde ignored the shouts of his companions, rushing forwards with his eyes set on the huge weapon before him. Then the shooting started.

Of course the enemies did not watch silently when they realized one of the French soldiers was trying to reach the dangerous Mitralleuse and they knew they had to shoot him down. Otherwise it would be hard to keep going forward.

Like deadly bees the bullets started to flew through the streets, but Phillipe did not go straight but moved forward in sharp short movements, avoiding the shots, when suddenly he felt an indescribable pain in the shoulder. With a gasp he went down, letting go of his weapon and instead pressing his hand on the burning part. He saw the blood but it took him some time to realize that he had been shot.

"This … is not possible." He mumbled in disbelief.

Suddenly the shadow of a person covered him and as he looked up he saw a soldier in front of him. He quickly tried to get his rifle, but then he noticed that this soldier would certainly not shoot him.

"Philippe, get the hell up and go back. Come on hurry!" Julien had come, aiming at the enemy, trying to protect him. Pain and astonishment made Philippe slow so could not react immediately.

"Julien?" he wondered, slowly trying to get up again. He took a look around and noticed that their comrades granted them rear cover. At this sight his brain started to work again. They needed to get back to the barrier. He had failed and probably he would have never been able to succeed. These thought made him feel bitter and tried to ignore the pain, which he actually deserved, in order to get up.

"Philippe, I am out of munition. Give me your rifle!" Julien let go of his own weapon reaching out for Philippe's weapon. Just when the blond wanted to hand it over another shot fell and hit its aim. Julien fell down almost on top on the blonde man who looked at his friend in surprise.

"Julien!" He pushed his friend aside, moving him on the back when he just notice the immense amount of blood. He looked at the man on the ground and his eyes widened in terror and fear.

Julien had been hit near the throat. Blood was spilling over his body and he looked at his friend in pain, making an awful noise.

"Julien! No! Come on you can't just die like that!" Although the others shoulder was hurt as well he took Julien's shoulders trying to pull him to a safer place closer to the barrier. Shots could still be heard but Philippe ignored them as he lend over Julien, pressing his shaking fingers on the wound.

"Come on, Julien!" He almost screamed, trying to stop the blood from spilling. At the same time he realized that he actually was scared and he knew that he had never had this feeling before.

As Julien looked at him with the same fear in his eyes another new feeling appeared in Philippe's heart which was guilt. It was his fault Julien had been hurt.

Just as Philippe wanted to calm his friend down he felt two strong arms that packed him from behind, pulling him away from the young man.

"Wait, let me go. What are you doing. We have to save him." Philippe shouted trying to get free but the wound on his shoulder and the shock made this almost impossible for him.

"Stop it now. He is lost and you know that." Philippe could hear his commanders voice. He and another soldier were pulling him behind the barrier while Julien was left to die alone in pain. "And before you are going to protest, think about what you have done, man. This is your fault and I won't let another of my soldiers die just because you think your invincible. After al I have to take responsibility for my men and you should follow my orders!"

These words stopped Philippe's resistance. With empty eyes he took a last glance on his friend and then got on his own feet, following the retreating soldiers.

On their way back they met up with the supporting force. However the support was to late. They built up another barricade where they would try to stop enemy once more. But it would be futile.

Philippe's wound was treated quickly and then he was ordered to get closer to the city centre where a camp for the wounded had been built. Just when he arrived he ran into Monsieur Chapeaux. Monsieur Chapeaux was kind of new at the French branch of the secret service, but he was a fine man and since he had been a doctor once he had started to help with the wounded voluntarily just like Philippe and Julien had become soldiers.

"Monsieur Juste! What happened?" The tall slim man came quickliy closer, observing the younger one. "You are hurt. Come with me I will take a look at that." He gently pushed him inside a small building where some more wounded men were treated by doctors and nurses. Philippe was placed on a chair. Next him was a small table on which a lot of items for a medical treatment could be found. Monsieur Chapeaux carefully took of Philippe's jacket, examining the wound. "You're lucky. It seems like this is a through and through bullet wound. That means I won't have to search for the bullet. Although your muscles are damaged immensely. You will have to keep your arm calm for a couple of weeks." The man explained while treating the wound.

"He is dead." Philippe suddenly said with a toneless voice. Monsieur Chapeaux hesitated.

"Dead? Who?" Although he obviously already knew the answer he still wanted to hear it to be sure.

"Julien. It was my fault." The blonde said with a clear voice.

Silence fell over them as Monsieur Chapeaux stared at the younger until he continued the treatment.

"What happened?" He asked with a sad voice.

"I disobeyed the orders. I thought I would be able to handle this, but I was not. Julien died when he saved my life." Philippe's voice still was clear and secure, but Monsieur Chapeaux realized that the boy was not fine at all when a took a look in his eyes. There were no tears, but they were empty, almost dead. He looked like a broken man.

"Listen, Philippe." Monsieur Chapeaux knew he was actually not allowed to call his boss by his first name, but this was not a normal situation. "I know this is hard, but you should not blame yourself too much."

"No, I have to take responsibility for what I've done." Philippe immediately responded.

"But you know, I doubt that Julien would make you responsible for it. You were like a brother to him."

Philippe did not react to this but kept staring at the floor.

"We have to act." He suddenly said. Monsieur Chapeaux gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Paris will not be able to defend itself any longer. They will resign before the day ends for sure. And even if the German soldiers will not invade there will be a civil war. I could feel it the soldiers, the people, everybody they are all discontent."

Monsieur Chapeaux was not sure about this sudden twist of topic. Philippe still looked broken and yet he was talking about politics.

"What do you mean?"

"We will have to give up the headquarters."

The tall man hesitated.

"You mean you want to ..."

"We will burn it. We will take the most important document and burn the house so nobody can get close to any information inside. Afterwards we will leave the town."

"So this is your plan?" Monsieur Chapeaux was not sure what to think of this. Of course Philippe was right, but there was still fighting ongoing, he himself was wounded and they had just lost a member and a friend. Every normal person would probably just wallow in self-pity and yet there was that young man, still trying to think of something.

"You really think it is necessary to burn the headquarters?"

"Yes, there is no other possibility. I cannot risk that any of the information kept in there will fall into other hands. I have to take responsibility."

Monsieur Chapeaux silently nodded. Maybe it was the best to simply accept his boss' plan. He could not think of something else anyway and Philippe already had told them about this last possibility if everything failed.

"I should have made this decision earlier." The blonde silently said, but the other one shook his head.

"You've only tried to do what's best."

"Best for whom?"

"For the secret service."

"No, not today."

Monsieur Chapeaux fell silent again as he finished his treatment.

"I'm finish. You can go." Philippe got up and Monsieur Chapeaux helped him to get into the jacket again.

"Monsieur Barre and I will wait for you tonight. I know you want to help these people, but I cannot let any more of my men die." The blonde finally looked into his eyes and there was some sort of new power in them. Monsieur Chapeaux nodded.

"As you wish."

And with these last words of his secret service member the young blonde turned around in order to get to the headquarters. There was much work to do.

_**Spain – Train from Toulouse to Barcelona – 19**__**th**__**October 1870**_

_We finally crossed the border and will arrive in Barcelona this evening. After this long time we made it. Our escape from Paris was exhausting and yet I cannot get a rest. My shoulder got better though it still hurts. Monsieur Chapeaux said a scar will remain for sure. However I guess this is fair enough. Both the pain and the scar will keep reminding me of my foolish action, so I will never do something this reckless again._

_We already received the information that indeed a civil war broke out. Probably it is best to stay in Spain until everything calmed down._

_As for the destroyed headquarters we already informed all our branches and the Spanish branch is Barcelona is awaiting our arrival. Everything seems to be so well planned and yet it is not._

_We also already informed the branches about our loss. Although I wanted to commit what I've done at first Monsieur Barre insisted I shouldn't and he is probably right. This information might only cause problems inside the secret service. And yet I will not ignore this burden and take full responsibility and I will never again let someone of my men die as long as I am around. Also I will prohibit any reckless or unplanned actions._

_No case and no goal is more worth than a man's life._

_And I'll make sure not to forget this._

_Philippe_

* * *

Luc Barre left the room, sighing lightly as he noticed Monsieur Chapeaux on the other end of the floor. He walked towards the other man, giving him a meaningful glance.

"You talked to him, didn't you?" Monsieur Chapeaux wondered. "How is he?"

"Well, his shoulder got better. I guess he will be totally fine again in a couple of weeks." Luc answered, looking out of the window on the busy streets of Barcelona to where they had arrived this morning.

"That's not what I meant and you know that." The doctor responded and looked at the other one.

"What do you want me to tell you? I guess you should know. Of course he seems to be fine, but I could feel that he is not in a good condition. I guess he will just need some more time." Luc said and turned away from the window. "In any way it won't be a good idea to interfere right now. He has to do deal with this by himself at first."

"Yes, he probably won't talk to us anyway."

"Sadly, yes. It's his silly stubbornness to deal with everything on his own. He never even thinks about making use of some help. He's such a pig-head." Luc sighed sadly and massaged his temples.

"He is strong, Luc, I am sure he will be able to do this by himself."

"Indeed he is, but I am wondering how much can a single person do. He is still sixteen after all. A mere child. And not only his best friend died in battle no he also seeks the guilt all by himself and additionally the French branch is totally destroyed. It was his father's house, Gérard."

"I know that." Gérard responded. „But we have to trust him. We won't be able to help him as long as he does not want our help. For the time being we can at least take care of the destruction of the French branch. I am sure he wants to restore it in the end, but he indeed will need our help with that. Let's gather information on the Civil War which should have broken out by now and let's see what we can do about rebuilding the house."

"You are right. We should also contact the other branches. I am sure they will be able to help us with this task. Additionally there is a case going on in London. We should ask how it is proceeding right now." Luc looked at the closed door at the other end of the floor. He wished he would have been able to help Philippe more, but since he would not listen it was probably best to just believe in him and his self-confidence. "Let's leave him alone for a while and go talk to Senior García Díaz."

Monsieur Chapeaux just nodded and both men walked towards the stairs.

After Luc had left the room Philippe had locked it from the inside. He needed to be alone. Since they had left Paris he hadn't slept much and he also hadn't eaten well. He felt burnt out like an empty vessel and he also looked like it. His skin was pale and dark shadows were underneath his eyes.

Out of energy he sat down on the armchair, looking at the streets of Barcelona with empty eyes and suddenly he could feel something wet running down his cheek. Carefully he tried to dry them, but it was not possible since more tears left his eyes. It was not only the first time he cried for Julien's death, it also was the first time he ever cried and it would be the last time.

Silently the tears kept running and Philippe accepted it. He was too tired to care about it anyway.

It was not only that he grieved for Julien he also felt angry. He was angry at himself for letting something like that happen. But he was also scared. The images of his friend dying and not being able to help him, even letting him behind, were chasing him all the time. Although it was worse while he was asleep.

And all his thoughts just circled around one question: Why? Why did he have to die?

He never had believed in a God, but now he certainly was sure there was none. Julien had never done something bad so why should this God let him die? The one who deserved it the least. No, Philippe did not believe any longer at all. Rather he would believe in the devil who wanted to punish him for being reckless. And yet even that did not make sense. Wouldn't it have been better if he had died in that case? This was not supposed to be a punishment for an innocent boy like Julien had been.

These questions that would never receive an answer drove him crazy and he slipped down the armchair, falling on his knees in a silent scream, burying his head in his arms.

Moments later he fell asleep like that on the floor and woke up a couple of hours later.

Strange to say he felt refreshed when he opened his eyes again and his mind felt much clearer. Slowly he got up, running his hand over his hair. It was already dark outside but he went to the window and opened it nevertheless. The cool salty air was balm for his burning body.

He knew he would not be able to make things undone, it was a foolish thought, but he also knew that it was up to him what would happen now. He was not sure yet if he would be able to ever forgive himself, but he accepted being guilty.

However, he was certain that he would not be able to return to Paris for now. Yet it was essential to rebuild his father's house and to restore the French branch. But he trusted Luc Barre and he knew that the man would be able to deal with this task.

For the time being he also would not work actively in the secret service. First he needed to restore something else. As long as he was not at peace with himself he would not be able to lead the secret service any longer.

Since he had accepted all these facts he suddenly felt at least a little bit better and with new strength he closed the window and left the room.

_**Near Cape Town – Ship from Barcelona to Bombay – 29**__**th**__**May 1871**_

_This is the 64__th__day I have spent on this ship from Barcelona to Bombay. I am still not sure why I actually took this ship, but after I felt this anxious about staying there I thought it would be a good idea to go somewhere else and the ship to Bombay was the first leaving the harbour in the morning._

_I suppose Luc was quite furious about this decision or rather about me leaving that sudden, but yet I left precise orders at Barcelona for everything and in my current state I am of no use after all._

_I asked the people on the ship about India and it seems to be quite an interesting country. Maybe I will be able to make peace with myself there._

_Philippe_

* * *

It was already at night-time when Philippe came on deck. It was still warm and the stars where shining brightly. He looked into the sky and was relieved to feel calmer.

During his sleep nightmares had appeared and now he was not able to sleep any more. The nightmares were still lasting and they were as worse as always, but at least they had stopped to follow him while being awake.

"Ya admiring the stars?" A voice suddenly behind him asked.

Philippe recognized one of the crew members.

"They are kind of appeasing, aren't they? After all they never change. They are always the same stars." He answered, lowering his head, surprisingly noticing the sailor's chuckle.

"Nah, mate ya're wrong." The man said grinning. "The stars do change, but it's hard to recognize."

"Now do they? They always look the same to me."

"Nah, you see there is just the polar star that kinda never changes. The other stars are circling around it." he explained, pointing into the sky. "Like that we always know where north is."

"Interesting. But how do you know the other stars are changing their position?" Philippe wondered, trying to figure it out by himself by observing the stars attentively.

"Nah, you can't see it like that. They move very slowly. But there are constellations and by watching those during the whole night ya will be able to see it." The sailor said. "Ya know there is also a difference in where you are located. The constellations here are different than the one's in Europe or America and they also change during seasons."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"Well I'm the navigator." The man said with a huge grin.

"I see." Philippe responded, giving the man an interested glance. "Would you mind to tell me more about this? I would like to get to know some of these constellations."

"Sure, we have all the night."

And with that Philippe followed the explanations of the man attentively and interested and when the sun rose at the horizon he had learned much about astrology, navigation and constellations and he was resolved to learn even more about it.

_**India – Khalapur – Village close to Bombay – 8**__**th**__**September 1871**_

_When I first arrived in India I was shocked. This was merely a place controlled by the British. Of course I have heard about the colonies and the natives. I have heard all the stories and I have read all the news and none of them are true._

_Yet this is an exotic place and I have already learnt and seen many new things, but it is not what I have looked for._

_I was already about to leave when I met this old Indian. He says his name is Prajit and he lives in Khalapur which is a village close to Bombay. I met him near a Hindu temple. First he was trying to chase me away, calling me an infidel. Sure I am not much of a talker, but I nevertheless told him that I probably truly are an infidel since I am not really religious._

_Somehow he noticed my inner conflict while we were talking. I don't know how he did, but he says I have bad karma. I asked him what that means and he explained it to me. It says that every action, physical or mental, has a consequence and it seems like my karma is quite bad at the moment. I guess it's just another name for the process of finding peace._

_However I was interested in this karma and finally Prajit agreed to explain to me how to get at peace with myself again._

_He took me to his house and I learned more about India and Hinduism. It really is interesting how different the people in this world are. I am very eager to learn more from Prajit and because of that he accepted to teach me._

_It's long ago I had a teacher and visited school, but I am sure I am still a quick learner. Additionally I might be able to learn something that might be quite useful for the secret service._

_Prajit said he will of course teach me the Indian tongue as well which might be quite useful since Prajit's English is horrible. He also said something about physical and mental strength. I doubt I will need more physical strength, but mental strength is quite the thing I need right now._

_I am looking forward to the time I will be able to spend here._

_Philippe_

* * *

The young blonde was sitting outside the house in the garden on a bamboo mat, just wearing wide cotton pants and mediated. During the past one and a half years he had grown quite a bit more and his body looked even more trained. His days had been the same all the time. At five o'clock he got up and went for a two hours run that ended with a swim through the nearby little lake. Afterwards he returned to the house and had breakfast with Prajit, then he had to mediate for about two hours. In the beginning it had been very hard for the young man to sit still for two hours. Of course he loved this moment of silence, but sitting there with nothing but his thoughts made him to only think about Julien and this distracted him too much. But Prajit was a strict teacher and when Philippe would stop the mediation beforehand he had to sit there even longer and at some point he arranged himself with it.

And from then on mediation was quite appealing to him. He was able to think about nothing, to empty himself, or he used the time to order his thoughts to rethink ideas and to learn how to deal with his problem.

After mediation time Philippe would learn the Indian tongue and he was rather good at it. At least better than Prajit in English.

And then Philippe would learn something that was really something he liked. Prajit taught him an Indian martial art called Kalarippayat. So far Philippe had fought more like a boxer but with precise hits of course. Now he was taught how he could be even more precise, using his hands and feet and how he could make use of dangerous and fatal weapons. He loved these parts of the day.

The last part of the day was cooking and Philippe actually learned to like the spicy Indian kitchen.

Afterwards he would spent time working. Although he was not at Paris he of course had contact to Luc Barre and he also kept organizing his secret service with the help of the ex-private dectective.

And with every day Philippe felt like he could actually forgive himself a little more.

"Boy!" Prajits harsh voice stopped Philippe's thoughts and he opened his eyes, looking at the face of the old man who had always just called him boy. "We need to talk."

Philippe just nodded, but stayed in the comfortable seat of mediation. Prajit sat down in front of him.

"I have observed you the last few days. You have learned much, haven't you?"

"Indeed." Philippe just answered.

"I can't teach you more." Prajit simply said. "You have to leave."

Philippe watched him slightly puzzled, thinking about the man's words.

"You think I am ready?" He wondered. But at the same time he asked his teacher he knew that he actually was and instead of guilt there was something new burning inside him.

"You forgave yourself, didn't you?" The Indian man returned the question, knowing that his student already knew the answer himself.

Philippe slowly nodded. Of course he still regretted what had happened to Julien and he would never forget him neither what happened, but he had forgiven himself and he would make sure not to do something this reckless again.

He was finally at peace with himself.

"Yes, I did."

"Then you should leave. India certainly is not your place. I know you are zest for action and ready to see and to learn even more. Besides you have got responsibility, haven't you?"

Philippe thought these words over and finally nodded slowly. Prajit was right. He had got responsibility. After all it had been him establishing the secret service and at that moment he realized that he had actually lost the goal he once had had.

He had to return to Paris in order to keep growing the secret service and in order to find the traitor that had deceived his father long ago.

_**France – Paris – 20**__**th**__**November 1873**_

_Luc seemed to be so happy I finally returned and so was I. He has done such a brilliant job and I on the other hand have neglected my duty. The house just looks like I remember it and yet I don't feel totally well here anymore. Although I'm at peace with myself know, I guess I won't be able to stay here in Paris any longer at all._

_However, in spite of my expectations, Luc did not seem to be angry at me. He actually was more glad about my well-being. This is really something I did not expect and it also feels weird. Not even my own father ever cared that much about my well-being._

_However I have made up my mind and I will do everything I can in order to make the secret service growing. All my physical and mental strength shall be put into this task. There is so much to do and so less time, but I am quite certain we will be successful._

_We also received some news on my father's case. However it seems like there is not enough evidence so I will put it aside for the time being._

_Anyway I have thought of some new innovations concerning the secret service and I will try to realize these. First of all we need to expand to other countries. Portugal is very important and probably even America._

_Secondly we need to introduce aliases. This is for the safety of the members. I have already decided one for myself._

_I will have to speak about this with Luc as soon as possible._

_Alaude_


	4. Hardworking

**Hard-working**

"Well, I do see you're point and I agree with you. Mainly Portugal would be a valuable location for us after all we've just send two men there from Barcelona in order to collect information."

"Yes, I read about that. They are after a deceiver right now, aren't they? I do like to become a part of this case. Eventually I will set sails to Boston afterwards."

The two men sat in front of a world map and a couple of documents and papers. It had not taken much time for Philippe into work again. Luc supposed the young man had been working during the nights as well, but since he seemed to be fine he did not ask him about this assumption.

The man soon had realized that Philippe had changed. Of course he seemed to have came to terms with Julien's death, but on the other hand he appeared much cooler. Philippe never had been the talkative and open boy, but now he was very distant, businesslike and self-controlled. He had lost his burning passion and catchy fiery attitude.

Maybe Philippe had accepted what had happened and he was not blaming himself any longer, but additionally he had built something like an invisible wall. Probably the young man didn't even notice this himself, but Luc was sure that it was an instinctive protection not to suffer like this again.

"What do you think?"

Luc blinked and looked at Philippe.

"I am sorry, what did you say?"

Philippe gave him a sceptical glance.

"About America." He repeated shortly and pointed to Boston on the map.

"Well, it might be hard to establish a branch there. We don't know any body over there and yet it truly might be a valuable location. Additionally America's economy is growing. The secret service could benefit from it."

Philippe nodded.

"I will go there then and see what I can do." He responded and straightened himself. "There is something else we need to discuss."

"You mean the aliases you mentioned before?"

"Yes, indeed. I believe this will be safer for the secret service and its members."

"Of course it would, but you are forgetting something. Take me for example. Many people know me by my name and they might find it awkward if I started to use an alias." Luc countered Philippe's argument. Of course Philippe was right. It would be much safer for many of their members if they used an alias, but those like him who were working with a lot of informants and even official police forces it would be a bad idea.

Philippe nodded thoughtfully.

"You are right. I suppose it would be the best for you and some other members not to wear an alias. This could just draw attention to our secret service and our informants might get suspicious about us. However I insist that everyone else will be using an alias. Some of our members do have family and friends. It would be irresponsible to put innocent people in danger."

Luc nodded. However for a second he wondered whether Philippe wanted to introduce the aliases also because he wanted to change his own life. He already had noticed that the young man did not feel comfortable in Paris any longer. Probably Philippe would turn himself to another branch, though Luc did not know to which one. Philippe didn't like Germany and the branches in Austria and England were in best hands and Luc was not sure whether Philippe would be happy in Barcelona. Maybe he would stay at one of the new branches in Portugal or America.

"Fair enough. Is there any rule you want to follow by giving the aliases to the members?"

"Of course we will think of the new aliases and then travel to the branches personally. It's too dangerous to make use of a telegram."

Luc nodded. Philippe had always been a clever boy. Of course he had already thought everything over.

"Alright and what kind of aliases do you want to use? Just random names or something else?" Luc wanted to know.

"No, I thought of something a little bit more abstract. Like that it will be impossible to think of the actual name of those using an alias."

"And what is you abstract idea?"

"We will use birds names and modify them if necessary. There are enough possibilities so that all the members will get an alias." Philippe explained his friend.

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad. Aside from the two of us probably no one will be able to look this through." Luc responded and then directly looked at the blonde. "Have you already decided for your alias?"

Philippe nodded silently and took some from the documents off the table.

"It's Alaude." he finally answered and was just about to leave when Luc's words stopped him.

"Alaude? You mean like _alaudidés_? A lark?"

The young man took a look back at the older man.

"Yes, that's right."

"Weren't these Julien's favourites?"

"Yes, they were."

And Alaude turned around and left the room, leaving a thoughtful Luc Barre behind.

_**Atlantic Ocean – Ship from Le Havre to Porto – 2**__**nd **__**January 1874**_

_Tomorrow evening we will arrive at Porto in Portugal. I will meet up with the two members of the Spanish branch, Àguila and Gaviota there. They still are tracking down the deceiver. The problem about this guy is that it seems like he has got some information that were mentioned to be for us. This situation is tricky and it is necessary we catch this guy. Luckily my Portuguese is well enough so I'll try to gain some more information myself as well. But in the end I am quite certain the three of us will be successful._

_As soon as this task is fulfilled I will take a ship to America. I have already heard some interesting rumours about a gang in Boston and I am quite eager to get to know these people. If my information are correct they are working as some sort of private detectives just like Luc Barre before he joined me._

_Even if it is not true they seem to have quite some influence. Maybe I can make use of this influence._

_Alaude_

* * *

The blonde man slowly walked through Porto's alleys. He was like a shadow and almost moved soundless while he followed the smaller dark haired man. It had taken much more time than they had thought to track this deceiver down and now he was just a couple of steps away from Alaude.

Yet, he remained silent. It was too dangerous to face the guy right now. First he had to see where the man was going. After all it was more important to get back the stolen documents and information and the man probably did not carry them around with him.

It was more likely he had left them at home and since they did not know the place he was living they needed to find it out by following him.

Even if the man would not tell them anything there would be a chance then to find the documents on their own.

Alaude waited for a moment in one of the dark alleys before he left it and crossed a street in order to keep following the man. He never lost sight of him and stayed patient until the deceiver stopped in front of a building.

Alaude hid in the shadows while the man looked around suspiciously. Then he opened the door and went inside.

From the looks of the house this had to be his home. It was neither a pub nor another public building and he hadn't rung the bell but used an own key. Slowly Alaude approached closer and then he quickly jumped forward, throwing himself at the door and pushing it open before the man could close it.

The deceiver was taken by total surprise and could not stand a chance against Alaude's strength. He fell backwards and already saw the tall man standing over him a second later.

"Nuno Silva Fernandes I hereby arrest you for thievery and deceit in about 37 cases. You may hand over all the documents and information that have been taken by you in Barcelona. You will be judged by a court for your crimes. May you be sentenced to your rightful punsihment."

The dark haired man looked at the blonde in disbelief. Since this stranger had spoken perfect Portuguese he surely had understood everything, but he could hardly belief this. He started with a low chuckle.

"Is that so? I see you are not from the police. What kind of evidence do you have anyway, huh?" He slowly got up again and just gave the other one a cheeky grin.

However Alaude stayed calm, just keeping an eye on the man.

"We found some of the stolen goods from the Madrid robbery last year in August in one of your apartments. Additionally there are a couple of witnesses and one of them is a man being deceived by you in order to get your hands on information that were actually meant to reach our branch in Barcelona. We already found one of these missing documents at a man's place in Vila Nova de Gaia who told us he received these information and documents from nobody else but you. There are even more evidence and witnesses which will all be brought to the court right after we have delivered you to the local police station."

Silence dominated after these words while the Portuguese man watched the French one warily.

"How do you know this much? Who are you?" He wondered silently and took a step backwards. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I will not go anywhere." He said and pulled a loaded gun from his belt, aiming at the tall blonde. "Whoever you are I will not just stand by and let you do as you please and as soon as you are gone I'll make sure to get rid of any evidence you've got, including these witnesses." His voice was loud and fierce and he was eager to pull the trigger in order to get rid of this nuisance.

However, Alaude stayed calm although he just looked at the end of a large loaded pistol.

"That won't work." He bluntly stated, making the Portuguese man feel irritated for a second before he himself felt the muzzle of a weapon that was pressed onto his back.

"Let it go." It was a dark voice with a Spanish accent that the Portuguese heard from behind. He hesitated for a second, but then he let go of the pistol, aiming at Alaude. A thud could be heard when it landed on the wooden floor and right after the dull sound Alaude approached closer, seizing the man on the shoulder and pushing him to the wall. He gave Gaviota a silent nod. Everything had been worked according to their plan.

The French man took handcuffs from one of his pockets, tying the man's hands together.

"Well, Senhor Silva Fernandes, it appears that you yet are not out of luck." He started, leaning closer to the man so he could hear his voice clearly. "There are still some very important documents in your possession. If you tell us where we can find those there might be a chance some of the evidence putting pressure on you will not be given into the hands of the court." Normally Alaude did not like this kind of blackmail, but it would be extremely time consuming to find all the documents by themselves and this man surely would still receive a fair punishment after all, even if they did not present all the evidence they had for his crimes.

The Portuguese was obviously giving this offer a thought and then he finally nodded.

"Fair enough." He responded bitterly and Alaude nodded towards Gaviota. He and Àguila would take care of the case from now on. He had another goal which actually was called Boston.

The Spanish man took Nuno Silva Fernandes' arm and took him away while Alaude silently left the house. The streets were still empty and calm and the air smelled salty from the nearby ocean.

Although it had taken them some time to catch this man, he surely was just a small fish and no big deal. Nevertheless Alaude somewhat felt satisfied. They had closed another case and the seizure of this man would consolidate the position of the secret service even further. He felt self-confident and would keep up with the work.

The French took a pocket watch and checked the time. It was not even midnight, time enough to get to the harbour and take the ship to Boston, which would leave in the early morning.

_**America – Boston – 21**__**st**__**April 1874**_

_It appears that it is quite hard to lay hands on this gang in Boston. They're really careful about revealing themselves to the people and therefore I was not able to gain any valuable information at all so far. However I got on another very interesting track that might help me in order to get in contact with these private detectives. It seems like there is a jewellery thief in town. He calls himself "Lynx" due to his own cleverness, because so far the police and not even these private detectives have been able to get hands on him._

_I've spent some time on gaining more information about this thief and have been quite successful, though these information should be in the hands of the police and the Boston gang as well. Yet, I suppose they did not make use of it, because they lack evidence._

_I, however, will make use of the information in order to get in contact with "Lynx". I already told Luc about my plans since I might not be able to get in contact with him as soon as I get ready._

_But I have to get going now. First I need to attract "Lynx" attention and then I will have to gain his trust. If everything will be going according to my plan I might be able to do both at once._

_Alaude_

* * *

The huge massive man led Alaude through the backdoor of the small pub and up some creaky stairs to the second floor. The corridors were small and it smelled mouldy. Suddenly the man stopped in front of a door and he knocked in a certain way at the wood then he lowered at the tall blonde.

"Keep ya manners and better don't underestimate Lynx."

"Fair enough." Alaude simply responded, watching the man warily who finally opened the door. However, when the French entered the room he hesitated for a second. There was a large table in the middle of the room and at that room a young beautiful woman was sitting. She had black hair and golden eyes that actually really reminded him of a big cat and her black coloured nails were long and sharp. Lynx was woman, not a man as he first had thought.

"Lynx?" He asked, examining the woman sharply who just gave him a slim smile.

"Indeed. And you are the one who just took my prey these days. Quite impressing. I heard they didn't even find a clue and in the end it was me who they accused. Not that I would mind though, they don't have evidence anyway, however it is quite disturbing to receive credits for something I've not done." She leaned backwards, sprawling like a cat.

"Well, it appears I must have left a clue otherwise you would not have found me, right? Quite impressive, too." Alaude responded, although it was a lie. Of course he had taken care of everything, actually hoping that Lynx would find him after he had stolen quite a precious piece that had also been targeted by Lynx herself.

The woman chuckled.

"Yes, indeed. I bet you're dying to know what I want." She said almost purring, giving him another wide grin.

"The jewellery." He simply said, but the woman shook her head.

"Well, I have to admit that this was my goal at first, but at second sight I first would like to know the name of this handsome man who dared to take my prey."

Alaude lifted an eyebrow on this statement. Although he had hoped to get to talk with Lynx this somehow did not exactly go as planned.

"It's Magpie."

"Magpie? Like those mischievous thievish birds?" Lynx chuckled and ran her fingers through the long hair. "That's cute."

The woman got up while Alaude watched her sceptically. Never in his whole life he had been called cute. What kind of weird person was this woman? Of course she was a master in thievery, but she surely had enough other personality problems. Maybe she had even some mental health problems. However he indeed was not cute.

Slowly, sneaking like a cat, Lynx came around the table and finally stopped in front of Alaude.

"You know what, maybe I can forgive you for stealing my prey." She said, pointing at him with her sharp fingernail. "Actually I think I could use a partner, if you know what I mean, handsome Magpie. However, you have to proof that you're worthy first. What do you think?"

Again she was grinning at him, like a big cat that was ready to jump at its prey any moment.

Alaude returned the grin with a cool slim smile.

"Sounds good to me, Lynx." He responded.

"This is going to be fun." She chuckled, playing with the collar of his trenchcoat, before she turned around and took place on the other side of the table again. "Lynx and Magpie surely will get their hands on the most wonderful treasures now and nor the police neither those Boston Dogs will ever be able to seize them."

Alaude just nodded, agreeing to Lynx' on the outside while on the inside he was grinning knowingly. This woman surely was a fool. She probably thought she was the cat, playing with a little bird, but soon enough she'd realize it was the other way round and then it would be too late. And yet, although Alaude was sure that his plan would be successful, at the same time he knew he was playing with fire. Never would he have thought Lynx was a woman. Women were even more dangerous criminals than men due to their emotions. He would have to be very careful and he definitely would have to think of something that would keep that clingy mentally disordered wannabe cat off him.

_**America – Boston – 1**__**st**__**June 1874**_

_Things are going better than planned although it is quite hard to keep Lynx in check. However she still thinks she's fully in charge of everything. I managed to gain her trust and she showed me everything. Different addresses where she is hiding and where she's hiding the jewellery. She even introduced me to some smugglers to whom she sometimes is selling goods._

_Additionally she told me about her next coup and inducted me into the whole plan. Now it is time to make my own plans in order to create contact to the private detectives. Lynx calls them Boston Dogs though I doubt that's their actual name._

_However I am eager to get to know them and I hope they will reveal themselves to me as soon as my plan has succeeded._

_Alaude_

* * *

Alaude and Lynx were waiting in the shadows of a small alley across the street where the museum was. It was already past midnight and the time to start the operation drew near. For weeks they had been taking a look at the place now. They had checked every single entrance, the employees, the visitors, the security and they had checked out the exact location of the diamond necklet they were after. Lynx was full of energy and, to Alaude's suffering, very clingy.

"It's almost time." She purred while checking her pocket watch and leaning closer to the tall man. "This little shiny necklet will make me extremely rich. We should celebrate our coup afterwards." She said, running a fingernail across his cheek.

"Probably." Alaude simply responded, not reacting to this action.

"Magpie, my cute handsome bird, you could at least show me your liking once in a while." she complained with a slim grin.

"Sure." He said giving her a forced smile.

However, she did not notice the smile was not for real, and therefore was almost purring in satisfaction.

"That's my birdy. But now let's go. It's almost time." With these words she let go of him and Alaude sighed in relief before he followed the woman.

They did not go to the museum straight, but circled it by using some more alleys until they stood behind the building where a large tree was growing close to the wall. Alaude took on gloves and then helped the light woman to climb the tree. Skilled like a cat she climbed the branches and since she was so light even the smaller ones carried her weight without breaking. She climbed up the tree until she was able to reach one of the windows nearby. Then she took a small shiny stone out of her pocket and cut a whole into the glass through which she reached for the handle to open the window itself.

With a low chuckle she went inside, attaching a rope to a heavy looking cupboard and then lowering the other end through the window.

Alaude took the end of the rope and quickly climbed up the wall, also entering the museum through the window. She gave him a proud smile as soon as he stood in front of her.

"Well done, handsome Magpie. Come on let's go." And she turned around to unlock the door while Alaude was rolling his eyes. He was a rather patient guy nowadays but this annoying cat almost made him furious. However, it was not for much longer now and he surely would bear her until then.

Swiftly they went through the corridors until they had finally reached the large hall in the middle of the museum. However in front of the entrance they stopped, taking a look inside the hall where a huge man was standing. He was one of the security guards, taking care of the museum during the night and of course Alaude and Lynx had known this guy was actually there.

"Well, my handsome Magpie it's your turn now." Lynx purred, winking at him. Alaude just sighed lowly and went on. This was actually the most difficult part of his plan, because the security guard was not allowed to see him.

He made use of the display cases in the room in order to hide from the guard. Slowly he approached closer and made almost no sound at all. Finally he had rounded the man in order to attack him from behind. He just watched him for a second longer before he left his hideout, quickly moving towards the man who was just about to turn around.

Alaude cursed and hurried up. Right before the man would have turned far enough in order to see him the blonde French stood behind him. He quickly covered his mouth and nose with one hand and used the other hand to twist one of the guard's arms around. Now he was able to break the man's arm anytime with just a little move. However this was not his intention. He just wanted the man unconscious.

The guard on the other hand had been taken by surprise. He already couldn't move anymore without any pain in his arm when he noticed that somebody was attacking him. He used his one hand, trying to free himself again. But the other's grip was too strong and he was running out of air.

Moments later Alaude slowly laid the massive body down. He waited for another second then he let go of the man and instead checked his pulse. He was still alive, just unconscious as planned.

The blonde man straightened up and nodded towards the dark doorway from where Lynx finally appeared.

"Magpie, my cute bird, you've done such an excellent job. I knew you would be successful." She said leering. Alaude just lightly lifted an eyebrow when he noticed that strange smile.

"Indeed." He simply responded and quickly turned towards the display case behind him, in order to avoid being touched by the woman once again. "Go ahead before someone else is coming."

"No need to be hasty." She purred, stroking the tall man's arm while passing him. Again she took the small shiny stone from her pocket.

"Using a diamond to get another one. That's so ironic, isn't it." She said, cut one large whole inside the glass and took the precious necklet. "Look at that. Isn't it beautiful."

She lifted the necklet in order to take a closer look at the jewellery before she turned around and closely leaned towards the blonde.

"And now it is time that we both get our treat for the hard work we've done." Lynx said, sensually moving her fingers along the trenchcoat's collar.

Alaude gave her a slim grin in return.

"Yes, you're right." He said and quickly closed the end of one handcuff around Lynx' wrist.

She blinked in surprise.

"What does this mean? What are you up to? Magpie?" She quickly took a step back and let go of the necklet in order to take the pistol that was hanging from her belt, but Alaude was faster. He twisted her around and took the pistol before she could lay her hand on it. Then he brought her down by stepping onto her hollow of the knee.

Lynx cursed when she fell on her knees and before she could realize it Alaude had tightened the other side of the handcuff's on the security guard's wrist.

"What is the meaning of that! Magpie! Answer me right now, birdy!" The black haired woman now almost screamed, looking furiously at Alaude who remained very calm.

"Actually it's not Magpie and it's also not birdy, but regrettably I will not be able to let you know my name, Lynx." He said and took a bunch of letters and documents out of a pocket which he left on top of a display case out of Lynx' reach.

"What is that?" She almost hissed, trying to free herself, but the iron handcuffs did not move a bit as well as the large security guard. The man was just too heavy for the slender woman to pull or lift around.

"These are addresses of your hideouts, of smugglers and the places where you left the stolen jewellery as well as material that describes how you got your hands on all of the stuff. There is also more, but I guess that's rather the business of the judge not yours." Alaude started to explain, placing a small note on top of the letters. "And this here will let the police know it were the Boston Dogs, like you call them, which actually caught you."

She looked at him in despise. "You planned all of this from the very beginning, didn't you? You are not a birdy, you are a mutt."

"Not quite right. Actually I am not a member of the Boston Dogs. I am an outsider who would like to meet them. You were merely a tool in order to reach my goal." The blonde turned around in order to leave the place. Since Lynx had gotten quite loud the other security guards would be here soon.

"Wait! You think you will get away like that? I will tell them I had a partner and they will look for you! Additionally there was your first thievery which I did not organize. They will get you for sure!" She spitted, glaring at him.

Alaude just sighed and shook his head.

"No one ever saw me and I made sure the jewellery I have stolen will be found at one of your places as well. Just deal with it Lynx, you have lost to the bird."

"But I thought there was something between us. You cannot just leave me here." Lynx suddenly said with a softer voice, trying something else in order to get free again.

"I'm not interested in immature kittens." He said with a cold voice and left the room, leaving a woman behind that screamed and hissed like a furious cat.

A few days later Alaude sat in a café close to the museum. He had been here every day since Lynx had been taken in, reading the newspaper and waiting for something to happen. He also had already contacted Luc again, telling him that his plan had been successful so far.

However day after day he became more uncertain about the success of his actual goal. He had not heard anything of the private detectives although he had made sure to leave enough traces for them in order to find him. Yet, nothing had happened.

Just when he wanted to close the newspaper a man sat down in front of him. He was tall and had golden hair whereas his eyes, that examined Alaude warily, were dark brown.

"So this is the man who caught Lynx." He started the conversation. Although Alaude would have loved to celebrate his success he remained calm and kept his eyes on the stranger.

"Who would like to know that?" Alaude responded calmly.

"Well it appears that I am one of the people being praised for Lynx arrest, although we were not involved at all."

"My apologies, though I thought this would be the easiest way to get in contact with you."

"You are very clever and of course an interesting person. And yet it is quite impressing how you managed to get a hold of that jewellery thief. We haven't been able to catch her for month." The man lightly tilted its head. "I guess we really need to talk, but it would be best to do that in a much safer place."

Alaude nodded his head.

"I agree."

_**America – Boston – 13**__**th**__**December 1875**_

_The American private detective gang is finally going well. It was rather hard in the beginning. They honestly are an amazing team, but they have almost no money to support themselves and some of the members still lack experience._

_I suppose it was a wise decision to integrate them as an independent party in my secret service. We will support them financially as well as with recruiting and instructing new members. In return we will receive information from America about anything that happens over here._

_Mister White has already sent two voluntaries to Boston who will help to build up the independent branch._

_First I was not sure about this, since I actually wanted to create a fully dependent branch of the secret service here, but if I think about it again it will be much easier like this. It means we won't have to organize everything. It is also difficult enough to keep all the other branches in check. Like that we will receive a monthly report of our supporters from Boston and only difficult or dangerous missions will need to be discussed._

_Also I think Mister Hickey will be a fine leader. After all he has already proven to me that he has respectful and accessible goals for the Boston secret service. With that knowledge I will be able to return to Paris with a quiet conscience_

_Alaude_

* * *

"Is that him?" The blonde tall man looked at the photography, showing a man with blue hair, lying on the table that was covered with documents and papers.

"Yes, it is. We have been observing him for quite some month now. It appears that he is from Prussia and he for sure has been a part of some very questionable operations." The second man said, taking one of the documents. "His name is Daemon Spade and his family seems to be quite influential."

Alaude let go of the photography and took the document instead. Everything they had found out was written down there. Name, age, family, origin and other information were listed there. He carefully read through everything.

"His family was meant to be involved in the German-French-War." The third agent stated, pointing at a couple of other papers.

"Is that so?" Alaude listened up and took the papers in order to scan through them.

"Yes, but there is no evidence. There also is no evidence that this Spade actually really was involved in these illegal activities we were taking care of. It is rather difficult to get a hold of him." The man responded, looking rather frustrated.

Alaude nodded silently and again took a look at the photography.

"Where is this Spade right now?" He asked, accurately examining the person on the picture.

"He went back to Prussia for the time being, but I guess this will not last for long. Before that he spent some time in the German Empire and of course here in Vienna. We suppose he also went to Switzerland or Italy for a little while."

The blonde French just nodded again in order to signal he had understood what was said. The report of his Austrian Branch had made him worried. Somehow it seemed like there were occurring some not explainable things, mainly deceit and treason that affected the political power structure in some countries. It sounded dangerous. And yet his men were not able to gain any evidence at all.

Alaude turned around and walked to the window, taking a look outside. He was deeply in thoughts, trying to figure out how his men should proceed for now. The two men, that were also still in the room, stayed silent. They knew that it was better not to interrupt the bosses thinking. Finally Alaude turned around again.

"Alright, I want you to go on with your research. But please only observe this man. Don't do anything else without my permission. I want to know everything what you can find out, in what places he stays, where he is going, who he is meeting, what he is doing."

The two men nodded and started to sort the documents on the table.

"And please sent any news to Paris immediately. Monsieur Barre is standing in constant contact with me. Like that you will be able to reach me any time."

"Of course, Alaude."

_**Austria – Vienna – 3**__**rd**__**May 1877**_

_Daemon Spade. This name has been bothering me for a couple of more days. It is quite extraordinary that some seems to be involved in a case not leaving at least a little trace. Additionally I have a very bad feeling about this man and it doesn't help that he is from Prussia. I have never trusted these people._

_I have worked quite a lot on this case and I actually wanted to take care of everything myself, but a very important message from Luc arrived today. He told me something about Russian smugglers, dealing with goods in France, Spain, Portugal and the German Empire. I first will have to return to Paris in order to check up on this._

_As for Daemon Spade's case I assigned three of the best men from Austria with the task. They will keep an eye on this suspicious man and I hope I will receive more specific information as soon as I have been able to solve the case about the Russian smugglers._

_Alaude_

* * *

The blonde man was sitting at his working desk, looking through a couple of papers. There also were some Russian books and dictionaries which he took a look at from time to time, in order to check on something. Suddenly a knock on the door could be heard and the blonde looked up from his work.

"Yes, please?" He said, already looking at the paper in front of him again.

The door opened and Luc entered the room. Silently he looked at the younger man who was still eagerly working.

"What is it?" Alaude asked since Luc did not start a conversation at all.

"You are still working?" He wondered and examined the mess on the working desk.

"Sure, why shouldn't I?"

"Isn't it your birthday today? You should take a break once in a while you know." Luc said and took one of the Russian books from the table, scrolling through the pages. "Additionally I still think this is not a good idea."

Alaude stopped in his movement and looked up at Luc, giving him a cold glare.

"I guess we have discussed this enough. And I don't see any sense in taking a day off. Just because it is my birthday it doesn't mean that I don't have to work."

Luc just lightly shook his head.

"Alaude, I still think this is too big for us. After all we are talking about a huge Russian organization."

"That's nonsense. Everything is well prepared. You know I never start a mission without carefully planning it and I neither care if this organization is Russian nor if it's huge. They are interfering in the economic system of many countries. That's inadmissible."

Luc sighed and returned the book and the table, giving the blonde a lightly worried look.

"Fine, that still does not mean you have to work on your birthday. You've even been working on Christmas last year and you never take a day off not even on Sundays. Don't you think you should take it easier?"

The blonde was still glaring at the older one. Then he straightened up and folded his arms.

"Why do you care about that? Isn't it my own decision whether I'd like to work or not? To me every day is the same and when I'm taking a day off it is just a lost day. I don't mind if you don't agree, but don't try to change my habits." He said with a clear but almost emotionless voice.

"Alaude, I'm not trying to force you to do something, but you've changed so much, you know? I am just worried."

"You are worried?" Alaude lifted an eyebrow and now looked at Luc in disbelief. "Why should you be worried? I am just fine."

Luc sighed and gave him a rather sad look. Since Alaude had returned from his time in India he had really changed quite a lot. He was not only hard-working, but also more solitary and almost emotionless. Nothing seemed to get close to him and Luc felt as if Alaude was trying to distance himself from everything and everyone. He never spent much time in Paris and travelled around a lot, clearing every mission and case all by himself.

"Yes, you seem to be fine. But I've got the feeling that you are not or that this might change. Please, Alaude, take a break for today. There are enough people at the secret service working. You don't have to do everything on your own."

"I'm just doing what I need to do." The blonde said and got up from his chair. "As long as I am planning the operations I can be sure that everything will be fine and no one will be put into any danger. I am just taking responsibility."

"Don't you think you should take responsibility for yourself as well in order to take responsibility for the others? It's not good if you're overworked."

The blonde glared at Luc. However the other man did not seem to be affected by that although the furious look on Alaude's face was quite scary.

"Who do you think you are? I never asked you for any advice!"

"No you didn't." Luc answered and turned around in order to leave the room. "But I am still your friend."

_**France – Paris – 7**__**th**__**July 1878**_

_Luc's words made me think a lot and later on I went over to his room an apologized for my behaviour. Somehow he is right, because he indeed is my friend and I was totally misbehaving. I guess it is just fair enough that he sometimes worries about me just as I keep worrying about him and the other members._

_So I actually followed his advice and took the rest of the day off. We kept drinking some brandy and liquor until late night. However I kind of regret this by now since it seems like I had too much of it. This morning my head was still spinning and hurt quite a lot, so I had to take another day off._

_Yet, I think it was a good decision to meet up with Luc. We have been talking a lot and I was finally able to convince him that we will be able to stop the smuggling of that Russian organization. Therefore we will organize a special task force including ten of our best members and me._

_But there still is something that bothers me a bit, because Luc seems to be really amused when talking about last night. He said I was really talkative, but I cannot remember what we actually talked about. That's quite frustrating. Probably I shouldn't drink that much ever again._

_However, since I had been taking that much time off work I will have to do more tomorrow. I should better get up early, because in order to be successful in the Russian case I need to improve my Russian as quickly as possible._

_Alaude_


	5. Righteous

**Sorry for the long wait, but there's finally the next chapter of my fanfiction.**

**Since there are a lot of headcanons and no pairings I'm pretty surprised how many faves I got on this FF. I hope you'll like the next chapter as much as the stuff I've already written. Again there was no chance to re-read everything so there might be a lot of spelling mistakes and stuff. Hope you'll be able to read through everything fluently anyway.**

**However I think there's enough said for now. Read on and enjoy~**

* * *

**Righteous**

When Alaude got up it was still early and yet he was fully awaken. He opened the window of the small room he was currently living in. Everything he needed was inside this single room. A small bed, a table and a chair and a small oven. Only the bathtub was missing, but since he lived in a rather cheap place it was no surprise.

The cold air immediately filled the already chilly room and yet Alaude enjoyed the cool Russian air during winter. He quickly observed the snow-covered streets before he closed the window again and began to dress in warmer clothes. The fur coat and the fur cap kept him really warm although the Russian winter was actually really hard and freezing, but with them he didn't suffer from the cold at all. Then he checked the pockets of his coat in order to see whether all his tools were still at their place. At last he took on the boots and hid the metal rod, that was lying next to them on the floor, inside one of them.

As he was ready he left the small room and went through the small corridor that led to the house's exit. He immediately turned to the left and followed the snowy streets that led him through Moscow. On his way he met other people that were just about to go to work and all of them were dressed in warm furry clothes.

After a while he took some gloves from one pocket and shoved them over his hands in order to keep them warm as well. It was a really cool morning, probably the coldest since he had come here.

Finally he had reached his goal, a small pub in an alleyway. Once he had entered it he could already feel the warmer air from inside the building. Yet, there weren't many people inside, but that was probably just because it was still early.

He went over to the bar and sat down next to another man who was wearing almost the same clothes as him.

"Good Morning, Dimitrij." He greeted the man and nodded towards the barkeeper in order to greet him as well.

"Good Morning, Alexej. Good to see my cousin so often now. You want some Vodka?" The man called Dimitrij asked and waved at the barkeeper who silently took a small glass and filled it with a clear liquid. He put it in front of Alaude and also filled the other one's glass again.

Alaude felt as if he would throw up an second, but he was self-controlled enough in order to keep calm and to suppress this feeling. He just still was not used to already drink alcohol in the early morning and additionally he didn't like Vodka at all. However he still had to play along and so he took the small glass and emptied it at once. The sharp taste immediately was burning on his tongue.

"Did he tell you when he wants to see us?" Alaude asked the other tall blonde man, sitting next to him. But he shook his head.

"Michail will pick us up." He simply stated and again waved at the barkeeper who, to Alaude's discontent, refilled the two glasses.

Luckily Michail showed up about half an hour later and so Alaude just had to take three glasses in total. Dimitrij was just about to order the fourth drink when a harsh voice sounded from behind them.

"The boss wants to see you now." Michail was even larger than Alaude. He had no hair and was looking more like giant than a man. As far as Alaude had found out Michail was a direct subordinate of the boss. The other members of the gang were subordinates to those. Like that the boss did not have to take care of everybody. Yet, Alaude did not really like this system. For himself he prefered to know all his subordinates and he also prefered to speak to them directly about anything. Like that he could make sure everything would be going as he had planned and additionally it was more personal. Of course Alaude did not seem like the personal man, but in fact he actually just wanted to know the people working for him. He not just wanted to know their character, but also their strength and weaknesses. Like that he could always send the most fitting person on a job.

However since he was the newbie of the Russian organization he would never have dared to question this system. He rather just followed orders so he would be able to gain as much information as possible and actually everything was working well. After all he would be able to meet the boss today.

Dimitrij got up and paid the barkeeper before he turned towards Michail.

"Very well." He simply said and followed his superior as well as Alaude did.

They left the small pub and followed Michail through the cold snowy streets.

"You better behave yourself, Alexej. The boss is really interested in your connections so if you do well you might be able to help us with the next delivery." Michail side-eyed Alaude. It was obviously that he was still not quite confident about this new guy. However so far the young fellow had been doing all of his jobs right and almost perfect. It was no wonder the boss wanted to finally meet him.

"I'll do my best. It'll be a pleasure to help out with shipping the goods." Alaude returned, earning a grin from Dimitrij.

"Of course you'll be good. If had known I have such a pleasant and valuable cousin over there I would have asked you to work with us earlier." The blonde Russian said while Michail was just snorting.

Of course Alaude was not Dimitrij's cousin. The French had no living relatives left and if he had they surely wouldn't live in Russia. But this had been the most easiest way in order to become a part of the Russian organization. After months of research they had found out that one member of the Russian organization, Dimitrij Morosow, had relatives now living in the German Empire close to the border of Poland. When Alaude had come to Russia he immediately had gone to Dimitrij, introducing himself as his cousin from the German Empire. First, of course, Dimitrij had been doubtfully, but some faked photographs and letters finally convinced him that he actually had a cousin. Best about Alaude's fake identity was that he had an explanation for not speaking Russian well enough.

Soon Alaude had been introduced to Michail who wasn't that easy to convince. But so far Alaude had been acting very good and of course it was just a question of time when the boss would like to meet him since he would be a very valuable part in continuing the smuggling. After all he had a faked German passport and it would be easy enough for him to bring the goods to western countries. Everything had been planned very well and it also was working out better than Alaude would have thought.

Meanwhile they had arrived at the industrial places near the main station. That probably was not only the place where the boss could be found, but it also was where the organization kept the smuggled goods before they were taken on a train and brought to the German Empire and from there also to France and Spain.

The three men finally entered a rather small building. Probably this was not the main place. Michail led them through a corridor inside something like a living room. At least there was a fire place and armchairs.

"You'll wait here until I come and get you." He said shortly and left the room again.

Alaude went to the small window and took a look outside in order to check the surroundings while Dimitrij sat down.

"Well, you're nervous Alexej? After all you'll finally meet the boss. It's ages ago I had that honour. He normally is not checking the smaller fish of the organization, but you surely are rather interesting for him. You should do your best for the family." Dimitrij could be really talkative which was another bonus for Alaude. In no time he had found out very much about the organization and had been able to hand over the information to his secret service.

However he actually had to admit that he really was nervous. An undercover investigation was always dangerous since it was always possible that someone found out about his real identity and meeting the boss belonged to one of the most critical parts. If he wasn't able to convince the boss he could just give up at that very moment and if his cover was blown he would probably be a dead person.

"I'm fine don't worry about me. Our name will become pretty important after this." He returned quietly while now warily checking out the room.

Just then Michail already returned. He nodded towards Alaude.

"You come with me now." He said and then looked at Dimitrij who got up from the armchair. "You'll have to wait."

It was easy to see that Dimitrij was disappointed, but no one ever questioned a decision the boss had made so he sat down again and just nodded at his believed cousin.

Alaude returned the simple gesture and then followed Michail to another room. The room was much bigger than the living room he had been before. There was a large fireplace, a couch and a huge working table. Behind this table a middle-aged man was sitting, smoking a cigar and of course drinking vodka. Behind him two large man were standing, watching Alaude warily who was lead closer by Michail.

"Thank you, Michail. You can wait outside now." The man behind the table said. Michail just nodded and turned away in order to leave the room. Then the man started to examine Alaude.

"So you are the one they are talking about at the moment, Alexej Morosow." He pointed towards a chair on the opposite to him and Alaude sat down as demanded.

"Yes, мастер Iwan." He simply said with the best Russian he could afford.

The man chuckled lightly.

"Seems like you've got some manners and you speak better Russian than Michail tried to make me believe." He cratched his chin and stubbed out the cigar. "You know why you're here, don't you?"

"Because of my origin." Alaude said, warily keeping an eye on all the three man.

"Aren't you a clever boy." Iwan said, taking a second glass and filling it with Vodka. "Here it's always better to drink while talking."

Alaude just nodded and took a sip from the liquid, trying not to look too disgustedly.

"So Michail told me you might be able to get our supplies over the border without any problems."

"Yes, I will." The blonde said without taking his eyes off Iwan who was now grinning rather pleased.

"Straight and honest, I like that." The man said, emptying his glass at once. "But I'd love to hear more details. What's your plan, Alexej?"

"Well, since I have a German passport it will be easier for me to get the goods over the border. There I can hide the supplies at a storehouse near the Polish border. From there I can arrange a delivery to different places like France and Spain or maybe even England if you'd like me to." Alaude told his invented plan and emptied his glass. Almost anxiously he waited for Iwan's answer, since this was the tricky part. If Iwan believed him he'd finally be able to gain even more information. Information about the smuggling itself.

"Good, good, though England is not important so far." Iwan said thoughtfully. "You're an intersting boy. I guess I will give you a chance in order to prove yourself. Because of the snow it is hard to do something until spring, but then the trains will be running more regularly again. I want you to prepare the first shipment in April. It will be a rather large thing so don't you dare to fail. Otherwise I will see that the name Morosow will be forgotten in Moscow if you know what I mean." Iwan chuckled lowly and lightened another cigar.

Of course Alaude knew what the man meant. If he failed Iwan would not only kill him but also Dimitrij and his family. Sounded fair enough since according to his plan it wouldn't come to this anyway.

"No worries, I will take care of everything. I'm sure you'll be pleased with my work." The blonde said, but Iwan just kept on chuckling.

"Yes, we will see." He said and refilled the two glasses. "You will keep reporting to Michail. He's the one organizing the goods and getting the delivery ready." The Russian boss raised his glass to Alaude and grinned.

"Do your best, Alexej. It's your only chance." And with that he emptied his glass as well as Alaude. Iwan didn't even know how true his last words actually were. However besides receiving a threat and too much Vodka it couldn't have went better for the blonde French.

**_Russia – Moscow – 18_****_th_****_ December 1878  
_**

_I've already informed the special squad about my success and told them to stay alert. As soon as I will know the date of the coup I'll hand over these information to them. Until then I asked them to be cautious. It would be fatal if someone found out about the intrusion._

_Unfortunately I cannot yet say anything about a date since it is still too early. Maybe I can start organizing the fake shipment in March when the weather is getting better. Until then I'll have to help out Michail with arranging the goods. He still seems not to trust me at all, but I guess not even Iwan does although he seemed to be rather convinced. However I believe he was just faking this after all he threatened me directly. I will have to be very careful or the operation might fail._

_I have to admit that therefore it is quite comforting to know that there are currently ten more members of the secret service at Moscow with me and it's even better that they are the best. After all I guess I will need the best support I can get._

_Alaude_

* * *

The three men were sitting at one of the small tables in the back of the bar. It was almost empty only except for two other tables which were occupied with three more men in total. Alaude carefully listened to what his comrades were talking about although it was quite a challenge to understand everything since his Russian was still not perfect at all.

"So the supplies will be ready only until the end of March?" Michail asked his contact man who nodded in response. "Don't you think you can speed things up?"

"Michail, I already told you that you won't be able to arrange a delivery before that time. The winter is quite hard and fewer trains are running. It's dangerous to bring the supplies there now." The smaller one said, scratching his beard.

"But our customers are getting anxious. They are waiting for our next delivery."

"And they will have to wait. I cannot arrange the requested things before 29th March."

Michail still seemed to be unpleased, but he did not keep bothering the man. Instead he turned towards Alaude.

"Ljoscha, you heard this. The delivery will be ready 29th March. You have to look for a train, but not before 31st March. Iwan normally wants to check the supplies, so he will need the 30th." Michail said, giving the blonde one a harsh look.

Alaude slowly nodded in order to show that he had understood although it was almost hard for him not to at least give a low sigh since he really hated being called by the nickname of his assumed name. Somehow he had grown a large dislike to nicknames since Lynx from Boston had given him so many stupid ones.

"He'll be able to check everything on 30th March and I will arrange the transportation for 31st March. This won't be a problem." He added and slowly touched his furry collar with three fingers and then pulling it in order.

Right after this the man nearby their table emptied his glass in one draught before pulling his cap more into his face, while the other two on the other table were still playing cards.

"So we'll keep the supplies in the same place as always?" The bearded man asked.

"Yes, of course." Michail responded while Alaude listened intensely. This would be the last important information he needed in order to organize an intervention. However Michail did not keep on talking and the other one did not ask for the precise address again, so it seemed like it was up to Alaude to find out about it by himself.

"Michail, is that place close to the train station? I will need to know in order to arrange a safe transfer." He carefully tried to make Michail talk more about the coup.

"No worries Ljoscha, I will give you the address soon enough." The taller man responded. On the inside Alaude tensed up a little bit, while he stayed calm on the outside.

"Well, I hope you will let me now as soon as possible." The blonde said, directly looking into Michail's eyes who just returned the look.

"Sure, Ljoscha, you know I'll never let you wait for information." The man said grinning, making Alaude tensing up even more. He already had realized that Michail was a dangerous man, but it almost seemed like he knew that Alaude was a double agent. The smaller blonde looked into the eyes of his opponent once more and for a second he thought he saw knowledge blinking inside them. However Alaude stayed calm and slowly nodded. If Michail had any proof about his distrust Alaude would already be a dead man.

"Fair enough." He responded. It was probably better not to push his luck too far. There would be other possibilities to find out the exact location and he did not only want to put him in danger since there was someone else inside the bar he had to keep safe. He lightly massaged his temple and then emptied his glass. He had no more information to hand over.

Right after this the lonely man left some money on the table and got up, he hesitated for a second and then also left a small tip before he finally left the small bar by passing the two card players.

As soon as he was gone Alaude relaxed a little bit again. His man was safe and he had been able to at least let them know the exact date of the intervention. For now he had to find out more about the location in order to inform his men about this as well and he also had to keep an eye on Michail who on the other hand obviously was keeping his eyes on Alaude. This made it not just more difficult but also way more dangerous.

**_Russia – Moscow – 16_****_th_****_ March 1879_**

_Time is running and I'm still lacking important information. This is going to be tricky. Additionally Michail is asking for a complete update every single day and he is putting me on the spot. In theory I already organized a complete shipment for the goods; I even reserved a railway carriage from Russia to Germany but in fact I of course don't want to take this shipment to take place._

_The plan actually was to bust the organization when Iwan is checking on the goods, but since I do not know any details about the location yet it seems like I have to make a different plan just in case. However it might be difficult to lay my hands on Iwan afterwards since he's always changing his residence and only his closest men know where he is hiding. That means I might not be able to lay hands on the boss after all and in that case I doubt the smuggling will be stopped._

_It actually almost feels like the whole situation is escalating and I am losing control of something that was once actually well planned, but I cannot let that happen. I have to think of a possibility and hopefully I'll find a less dangerous solution than the one's I already thought of. I just need to stay superior of the whole case._

_Failing is no option._

_Alaude_

* * *

Alaude glimpsed outside one of the large windows of the fabric building. The delivery was ready and everything was set. The five men including Alaude, Michail, and three more of Michail's men were waiting anxiously. Of course Iwan hadn't told anybody the exact time of when he wanted to arrive at the fabric building in order to check the goods, but now it was almost three o'clock and he hadn't shown up at all.

Alaude started to get slightly nervous. What if Iwan didn't come after all? Maybe they had looked through him after all and had found out that he was merely an undercover agent. In that case Iwan would never show up and probably this was just an ambush in order to get him and his men.

The blonde French took a deep breath when suddenly Michail stood behind him.

"You're nervous, Ljoscha?" He asked and grinned at him. Somehow Alaude disliked this grin, but he stayed calm and just shrugged with his shoulders.

"Not really, but it's cold. I'd prefer to be finish for today so that I can go to the next pub." He returned.

"Well, you shouldn't be drinking too much, Ljoscha. By today your work is only about to start while mine will be done." Michail chuckled and tapped him on the shoulder. "And I'll be sure to drink as much vodka as possible while you'll just watch."

"Fair enough." Alaude responded with a motionless voice while suddenly five man appeared in front of the fabric. The blonde examined them and then recognized the smaller man who had to be Iwan, flanked by four of his subordinates.

"He's here." Alaude simply said and turned away from the window.

Michail watched the five men a bit longer before he also turned away.

"Fine, the boss will be here any second, so you better behave yourself you guys." He snarled at his men who just nodded silently.

The French just ignored how bad Michail treated his subordinates and instead attentively watched the door through which Iwan should be coming any moment.

Then the heavy metal door was pushed open by one of Iwan's men and they all entered one after another, Iwan as the first of them. He spread his arms and grinned at the two main organizers of the coup.

"Michail, Alexej it's nice to see you both." He said and chuckled while already examining the boxes. "Are these my precious goods?" He wondered and already went to the first box in order to check on it.

Michail nodded and quickly followed his boss in order to open the wooden box and to present it to the boss.

"We still need to cover them up with uninteresting stuff, but then they'll be ready for shipment." The huge Russian explained to his boss who was just nodding.

"That's perfect. I'd like to see some of the weapons. They're our most valuable and most requested product." Iwan said and took a cigar from his pocket in order to smoke on the money he'd earn through this coup. "Maybe Alexej can explain me the transportation more precisely now. I'd like to hear all the details."

The group of men went on to the next box. Yet Iwan's order stayed unanswered. This of course angered the powerful Russian man and he adressed his subordinate again.

"Alexej, I am not going to ask you another time. I want to know the details about the shipment." He said with a harsh word and turned towards his subordinate. However when his eyes finally had found the blonde man he immediately hesitated, looking at a small thick pistol which was aimed at him and his other man.

Alaude lightly tilted his head, watching the Russians like a predatory cat that was about to attack its prey.

"I doubt I'll need to explain this to you since there won't be any transportation. In fact there won't be any coups any more from now on. You are hereby arrested. May the judge choose the punishment you deserve." The blonde said with a clear voice, keeping a wary eye on his opponents.

First silence ruled the hall, but then Iwan started to chuckle until he laughed loudly making his laugh echoing from the walls and the ceiling. When he had finally recovered and topped laughing he gave Alaude a sadistic grin.

"Well, I always knew there was something about you Alexej. Is that even your name? I doubt it is, but this doesn't matter anyway. However you shouldn't talk that big. You want to arrest me and my men? All on your own? You can't be thinking that this is going to work." Iwan put the cigar into his mouth and blew a large smoke cloud.

However Alaude just smiled coldly and knowingly back at Iwan and he didn't seem to be scared at the slightest.

"That's true up to a certain point. Because I am not alone." And with that he turned the flare gun in his hands towards one of the large windows aiming at the glass right above the head of the Russian men and pulling the trigger. The capsule immediately was pressed out of the gun and went flying towards the window. There it broke through the glass, making the shards rain down at the heads of the criminals and then flying on into the sky were it burst into a green light.

However Alaude didn't wait for the back up to arrive. Instead he let go of the flare gun and elegantly jumped to the side behind some of the wooden boxes in order to seek cover. Then he pulled a real gun from his warm furry coat and released the safety catch when he already heard gunfire which of course was from his enemies, aiming at the box he hid behind.

"You should better spare your munition." He mumbled and carefully looked around the box just to pull back again in order not be hit by one of the bullets. Then he slowly shoved the pistol around the corner of the box roughly aiming at the Russians and pulling the trigger for two times just in order to keep the men busy and away. Of course he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this position forever but he didn't play on time but rather on timing. Since now those Russians were busy and distracted it was time for some support and Alaude surely hadn't wait for long.

There was just a second of silence, but immediately was disturbed again by the sound of breaking glass. Six of the large windows were cracked by the impact of five men and a woman flying through the windows. They were all tied to ropes that obviously went up to the roof where they were tied to a part of the building. They were all dressed into black clothes, wearing modified U.S. Civil War Vests in order to protect themselves from bullets. Additionally they carried large rifles themselves which they immediately pointed at the men that obviously were surprised and confused by this sudden turn.

However, before they were able to react, the large door of the fabric building was pushed open and four more men entered the building, also carrying rifles and modified vests. They didn't hesitate at all and aimed at the other men when the first shot already could be heard. One of the Russian's screamed in pain and disbelief when the bullet hit him in the hand where he was carrying his gun. He immediately dropped it and instead tried to stop the blood spilling from his hurt hand.

Just a second later the next Russian was screaming when he was hit in his shoulder also letting go of his weapon and instead falling to the ground in pain. The Russian men seriously didn't stand a chance against the special unit of the secret service.

Alaude also quickly got up from his hideout aiming at his opponents with his gun, however most of the Russians already were hit by one of the bullets of his team and yet there was something not going well. He immediately noticed it that Michail and Iwan were not with the group of Russians.

Alaude quickly took a look around and just saw the two men on the metallic stairs that led upstairs to another floor. He lifted his gun and aimed at the two men, but his shot didn't hit even one of them since they already had gone through a heavy metal door.

Alaude cursed lowly and turned towards the only woman.

"Filomela, you're in charge. Send four men outside in order to secure the entrances. I want these two captured. Make sure no one leaves the building. If necessary you may shoot them down. And make sure these here are tied down carefully. Send Chikadee to get the police." He spoke quickly but with a clear voice and the woman just nodded and already turned towards the men who followed her orders without any complaints.

Meanwhile Alaude took off and quickly climbed the stairs. He needed Iwan in order to clear this case otherwise the man would probably just rebuild his organization and the smuggling would go on. This was not acceptable.

The blonde man's eyes were hard and cold when his hand finally reached the doorknob. With his full weight he pushed against the door in order to open it as quickly as possible. He rushed inside the room behind and immediately jumped to the side, avoiding a bullet that flew towards him with a loud shot. He elegantly rolled off and came on his feet again, lifting his own weapon and answering the shot that had welcomed him with a deadly intention.

The bullet hit its target and Alaude could hear the man letting go of his weapon, cursing violently. Immediately he left his covering and rushed forward towards the tall man who was no one else but Michail. There was some blood on his right hand where he had held the gun. However Alaude's bullet had just grazed his hand so the man was still able to fight and it didn't take Alaude long to notice that.

Before he was close enough Michail took a knife and threw it at the blond man who dodged the dangerous sharp metal with the gun in his hand. This was just the second Michail made use of in order to start an attack, grapping the gunbarrel of the French's weapon.

Alaude quickly pulled the trigger, but before the shot broke free the Russian pushed the gunbarrel to the side and the bullet went flying without hitting the right target. At the same time, Michail stroke out, aiming at Alaude's head. Just before the big man's fist was close enough the French went down in order to avoid the strike. However because of that he had to let go of the gun which was now in Michail's possession.

Quickly Alaude reached inside his boot. Right now he desperately needed a weapon. Without any he surly wouldn't stand long against this large Russian. Good enough he actually had brought a total armoury of weapons and so he took his long metal rod from the boot and immediately stroke the gun out of Michail's hands in order to prevent the man from using it.

Michail took a quick step back and grinned at the blonde.

"You're really more competent than I thought, but I'll take you down nevertheless. I've waited for it so long. You always pissed me off, Ljoscha." He spit on the floor right in front of Alaude who just gave his opponent a cold look.

"It seems like you've already underestimated me. You shouldn't repeat your fault." He simply said and rushed forward, starting the fight.

Right before the metal rod hit its goal Michail took another knife from his coat, blocking Alaude's attack. In a good sense the French jumped back again, just at the moment when Michail tried to stab him with the knife. However like that the knife just cut through the air.

Immediately noticing the weak side Michail had opened like that Alaude started another attack, hitting the man at the side. Michail groaned with pain, but he didn't give in and instead spun around attacking the blonde with his knife once more. Alaude just waited a second too long and so some strands of his blonde hair were cut off when he tried to avoid the sharp knife. He took a step back, but Michail followed him, again trying to stab him and while he continued his attacks Alaude kept evading the deadly weapon by making a couple of sidesteps and using his metal rod.

But Michail was remorseless and pushed Alaude against a stone pillar. He attacked again and the French desperately lifted his rod in order to prevent a direct hit. Because of Michail's brutal force Alaude lost hold of the rod and it was pushed out of his hand while the tip of the knife scratched the skin of his cheek open. Blood was spilling from the wound, but Alaude didn't wait for another attack. Instead he made use of Michail's size and longer reaction and quickly dove down, evading another blow and rising right behind him again. He grabbed Michail's arm and turned it around in order to make him let go of the knife what the Russian immediately did. Additionally Alaude tried to push the man against the stone pillar, trying to make him motionless.

However Alaude had underestimated Michail's strength. The tall man spun around, instead crushing Alaude against the pillar. The blonde lost his breath for a second by the pain that went through his whole body. He let go of Michail who turned around in order to give the French a punch in the face, but the leader of the secret service wasn't done yet. He blocked the punch and fought himself free again, gaining a little distance between him and Michail.

Quickly Alaude ripped off the fur on his collar, revealing a long metallic chain that had been hidden beneath it. He took the chain and started to spin it around, keeping Michail at some distance since the man wasn't that eager to receive a blow by the heavy chain.

Instead he took a third knife from his coat, threating the man in front of him with it. They started to circle each other, not taking their eyes of their opponent for once. Only the jingling sound of the whirling chain could be heard.

While they circled each other Alaude examined the taller man attentively. He had to get rid of this bastard or Iwan would probably be able to get away after all. What an unnecessary situation. Everything had been planned so well and yet some things totally went wrong. This surely was not the way Alaude preferred to work.

Nevertheless he patiently waited for Michail doing the first step and then suddenly all went very quick. Michail threw his knife at Alaude and immediately took another one, attacking the blonde directly.

Alaude on the other hand spun the chain and repelled the knife which Michail had just thrown. Right afterwards he quickly took a step to the side like a Spanish torero fighting a mad bull. Michail went past him, trying to stop, but since he had taken off by using his full power he was just not able to.

Alaude noticed that and took his chance by flinging the long chain at Michail's feet. The Russian got caught in it, stumbled and fell over when Alaude additionally pulled at the chain. A loud scream could be heard when Michail fell in his own knife. Blood spilled from his body and covered the floor like a red carpet.

With a heavy breath the man turned around. He was stabbed in the stomach by his own knife and yet his eyes were fierce and angry. It seemed as if the man still wished to keep fighting, but Alaude couldn't waste any more time.

"You'll be taken care of soon enough." He simply said and quickly collected his rod and the gun before he went off in order to go after Iwan.

There was only one door at the end of the hall and it probably let to the roof of the factory. However this time Alaude would be more careful and so he slowly opened the door while staying at the side and just as if he had known it a bullet flew through the opening door. If he had been standing right behind it the bullet would have hit him right into the chest.

"I actually really trusted you, Alexej. But in fact you're a big disappointment." He heard Iwan's voice from behind the door. Very well, he was still here now he just had to get him before the Russian would be able to get away. Of course he was on top of the factory's roof and probably his men already were standing around the building, keeping it safe, but yet Alaude didn't want to call this a victory.

He slowly lifted the rod in his hand, showing it to Iwan who shot again because of reflex.

"Don't you think it's time to give up?" Alaude said, taking a look around. As long as Iwan had a gun he couldn't just assault him. Of course he had a gun himself but probably he wouldn't be that lucky as when he had entered through the last door, facing Michail at the other side.

"Do you really believe I'll give up like that? No worries, my dear Alexej, I'll get away without a scratch after all." Alaude heard Iwan's words and started to think even more. If he didn't act now Iwan would probably get away.

Carefully and without making a noise Alaude took of the coat.

"But you're trapped at the top of a factory building. I doubt you'll be able to flee from there. Besides the whole building and the areas around it are under control of my men. It's over, Iwan, you should better deal with it." He said in order to keep Iwan in a conversation so he wouldn't try to get away that soon. At the same time he finally had been able to get rid of the coat and he immediately threw it through the door towards Iwan who again opened fire. Alaude heard two shots. Fair enough.

"You've got no idea, Alexej. I always get away that's how it goes." The Russian said loudly. "And the little tricks you're playing there are not going to work."

At the same time Alaude slowly pushed is gun around the corner and let go a blind shot. However this was not in order to hit Iwan. Instead Alaude followed another goal and when he noticed Iwan backfiring at him he quickly pulled back his gun.

"You shouldn't be so sure about that, Iwan." The blonde said, making the Russian chuckle.

"But I am sure." The man responded, while he kept watching the open door attentively. He chuckled once more and lifted his gun again. Right on the floor he was able to see a part of Alaude's boot. This would be his chance. He'd shoot the bastard in his foot and then he'd be able to take him down. Afterwards it'd be easy to escape this situation.

Carefully Iwan aimed at the furry boot which he could see from behind the corner and then he pulled the trigger. Of course the bullet hit its goal and a loud noise could be heard. Iwan grinned. This was just another victory for him.

However just when he was about to approach closer so he could finally get rid of the blonde traitor he just came around the corner and ran straight up to him.

"But you were hit!" Iwan shouted when he noticed Alaude wearing just one shoe. The man had tricked him once more. Furiously Iwan lifted his gun. This time he would hit his target straight between the eyes. He pulled the trigger. But nothing happened.

"I know the type of your gun Iwan. "Alaude said lifting his own weapon, aiming at his opponent. "Only six bullets. Your magazines empty. It's over now."

Iwan looked at the muzzle of Alaude's gun in disbelief. This just couldn't be the end. In pure frustration he rushed forward in order to attack the French, however Alaude reacted immediately. He avoided the attack of the Russian and knocked him down with just one strike of his gun and so the leader of the Russian organization fell into the snow on top of the factory's roof.

He didn't even have the time to get up again when Alaude already tightened the handcuffs on his wrists.

"Iwan Kowaljow, I hereby arrest you for the smuggling of weapons and alcohol-containing liquids to several countries of the European Union. All evidences will be brought to the judge of your trial. It will be his decision how to punish you for your crimes." Alaude said with a cold voice while he pulled Iwan to his feet again, aiming at him with his gun.

Iwan however just grunted and clenched his teeth.

"You really think this is over now? There are more people like me in Russia."

"Whatever you say, as long as these people stay in Russia I couldn't care less. Russia is none of my business. You intervened with European business and treaty and it was my duty to stop your illegal activities. That was the one and only mistake you've done."

"Then why didn't you just shoot me down, heh? You really think the Russian court will punish me rightful for these crimes. As you don't care for Russia they don't care for Europe." He said, glaring at Alaude over his shoulder. But Alaude just returned the view coldly.

"I am no judge, I just take down criminals. It is up to the law what will happen to you. Decisions like that cannot be made by someone like me since I am not allowed to decide about life and death. I'd never dare to do that. I just do what is right." He simply responded and with that he pushed Iwan back inside in order to bring him downstairs where the police was already waiting for them.

**_Russia – Moscow – 2_****_nd_****_ April 1879 (24)_**

_Iwan was brought to prison. However I will not wait for the trial since I should return to Paris for now. Three of my men will stay in Russia instead. They'll take care of anything and I am quite certain that Iwan will be punished correctly. After all there is much evidence and the smuggling also affected the Russian treaty in a rather negative way._

_Michail however died because of the blood loss. His wound was just too deep. I kind of feel sorry for him since it never had been my intention to get him killed, but I was just protecting myself so in the end I should be rather thankful I am still alive. The whole mission could have ended totally different._

_Tomorrow my train from Moscow is leaving and I'm really looking forward to get back to Paris. That's rather a strange feeling since I normally prefer to stay away these days, but I guess my stay in Russia just took a very long time and additionally I couldn't really find anything I liked about the country besides I actually somehow enjoyed the cold._

_It'll probably be way too warm for me once I arrive in Paris. After all it's already spring over there._

_I first intended to take a stop in Vienna since I am very curious whether they've found out more about this mischievous Daemon Spade. However Luc has sent a telegram this morning, informing me that they couldn't find any new clues so far and that I'm additionally needed in Paris. It seems like Luc has found out something new about the traitor of my father._

_There's no time to rest._

_Alaude_

* * *

„So you've finally found the proof that it really was him?" Alaude asked while he was looking at the photography which Luc had given to him.

The other man simply nodded and took a folder full of documents and papers.

"Yes, however it will be hard to get hands on the evidence we need to finally proof his guilt. But tomorrow we should be ready to go the court in order to demand an arrest." He added and tipped at the photography with his fingertip. "Alaude, do you actually know this man?" He wondered, trying to find out anything by looking at the blonde man, but his face stayed motionless.

Yet he nodded and placed the photography on the table in front of him.

"He's been a partner of my father for a couple of years before my father had been advanced. But he still visited from time to time and I think they also kept working together occasionally. I actually thought they were friends." For a second Luc thought he saw something like regret and sorrow in Alaude's eyes and he gently touched the younger one's shoulder.

"I set Merle and Picidae on the case. They're professionals." He tried to comfort him although the blonde already looked calm and controlled again. "They'll take the documents that will proof that man's treason to the police station once they laid their hands on them."

Alaude nodded silently and turned away, taking a look outside at the rainy streets of Paris. It was a rather wet summer this year and it probably wouldn't get much warmer any more.

"Let's go to the police station tomorrow ourselves. I'd like to come along once they arrest Monsieur Martineau." He said, still watching the rain falling down with steady eyes while Luc nodded.

"Of course, if you want me to I'll accompany you."

"I'd be glad if you would."

Luc kept watching the younger one. Since he had been able to get to know him he had been working just for this day. He still remembered the small thirteen year old boy that had initiated him into his plans of founding a secret service. They had started with a very small group, but they had grown bigger and bigger and now there were several countries that officially counted on them. And yet Alaude had never forgotten why had actually started to work as the leader of a secret intelligence service.

"Luc, I never thanked you for your help." Alaude suddenly broke the silence turning towards the older man.

"You know you're making this sound as if everything is going to end tomorrow." Luc responded, giving him a rather irritated look.

"Well, I am not quite sure. Everything I did was just to reach this single moment which will be achieved by tomorrow. Honestly I do not know what do afterwards. It's kind of irritating."

Luc gave a low chuckle and smiled at the blonde. At some point he still was the small boy he had met back then.

"You know, just because one goal is achieved it doesn't mean there won't be a new one to reach for." Luc simply said, lightly tilting his head. "However it sometimes takes some time until we find a new one. However you shouldn't worry too much, about that Alaude." He looked directly into the thoughtful icy blue eyes until Alaude nodded.

"I'll heed your advice. Thank you." The blonde said and turned around again in order to look outside the window. "I'll wait and see then."

"Well, I'll leave you for today then. If there's still something to discuss you can come over any time." Luc turned around and went towards the door, leaving the blonde behind. It was rare for Alaude to be that thoughtful. Obviously tomorrow's task was distressing him more then he wanted to show. It would probably be best to stay at his side until the end.

**_France – Paris – 30_****_th_****_ August 1879  
_**

_Tomorrow it will be over. In the early morning Merle and Picidae are going to break into Monsieur Martineau's house. There they will take the documents that will proof that it was him committing the treason fifteen years ago. It has been a long time, but I am sure justice will still be served._

_After breakfast Luc and I will meet up with Merle and Picidae at the police station. Monsieur Chevallier the commander of the local police station is a good friend and informant to Luc and he promised me that the man will take care of everything once we show him the evidence we've collected. He probably will also allow us to accompany the police while arresting Monsieur Martineau._

_It all sounds so easy, somehow a bit too easy. But maybe the last cases just have been rather difficult. I should be glad that everything's so well planned._

_And yet there is something bothering me. Probably it's because this case directly concerns me. And then there is still the question of what I'm going to do afterwards. Or will it even be different from now? Probably I'm just overreacting. Fifteen years is a long time._

_However I'll better be on alert._

_Alaude_

* * *

It was morning when Alaude left his room. He hadn't slept well during the night, but he wasn't feeling tired after all. Though probably the cup of coffee, he had just had, had a positive effect as well. He ran one hand through his blonde hair and was just about to go downstairs when the entrance door was flung open.

Alaude stopped immediately and warily watched the man entering the house. He was breathing heavily and seemed to be in a huge hurry.

"Merle? What are you doing here?" Alaude wondered, already tensing up at the sight of the man who was actually supposed to be on his way to the police station right now.

Before he received an answer a door upstairs was opened and Luc appeared behind him on the stairs.

"Merle? Wait what's going on here?" He asked and stopped right next to Alaude while the man looked at them apologetically.

"Monsieur Barre, Monsieur Alaude, I am truly sorry but we had some troubles while receiving the documents from Monsieur Martineau's house. Our cover was blown. Picidae was shot, but I think he's still alive though terribly hurt. Monsieur Martineau is on the way to the station. I fear he is trying to leave the country."

For a second Alaude was unable to move. This message truly was the worst he had received in ages. But he didn't hesitate for long.

"Luc!" He turned towards the older man who just nodded and went upstairs again. Then Alaude looked at Merle.

"Merle, go outside and prepare two more horses. We need to hurry." With these words he also quickly returned to his room where he took his trenchcoat. To be safe he checked the pockets and found his gun and the handcuffs. Probably he wouldn't need anything else than that so he left his room again and almost bumped into Luc who also left his room again, carrying a large rifle on his back and a gun at his belt.

"Ready?" Luc asked and Alaude just nodded. They hurried downstairs and into the backyard where Merle and one of the domestic workers were holding the already prepared horses. Quickly Luc and Alaude got in the saddle while Merle got up his own horse.

Without wasting any more time they pushed the horses forward and directed them from the yard to the street in a fast gallop. They went down the streets, going around cabs and carriages that already also made their way through the streets of Paris.

"When did Monsieur Martineau leave his house?" Alaude shouted back at Merle who followed him and Luc close behind.

"Just about twenty minutes ago. I came here as quickly as possible." He responded loudly.

Quickly Alaude calculated the time inside his head. Probably Monsieur Martineau had taken a cab. From the location of his house he probably needed about thirty minutes to the station. That meant they had ten minutes left. It was possible but difficult.

"Merle, I want you to go to the police station. You should only speak to Monsieur Chevallier. Tell him that Luc Barre has sent you and that we need them for an arrest at the station. The evidences will be brought as soon as possible. Then you should go and look after Picidae. Bring him to Fringille's house. He'll surely be able to help him."

Merle just nodded and quickly turned his horse to the right in order to make it to the police station as quickly as possible while Alaude and Luc stayed on the main road.

They directed their horses though the traffic, not caring for the angered comments which were shouted after them.

Finally they arrived at the station and while they were still riding down the street Alaude noticed a man leaving a cab. In his hand he carried an obviously heavy bag and he seemed to be in a great hurry.

"Luc, it's him!" He shouted, pointing at the man who was now quickly entering the main station.

"I see, no worry, we'll sure be able to still take him down." He encouraged the blonde and stopped his horse with a slide right in front of the large entrance.

They both jumped off their horses, running inside, but there were already too many people. The station was full of them and Monsieur Martineau was nowhere to be seen.

"We'll never find him." Alaude said with a demoralized tone in his voice. "And once he's on the train he's out of our reach."

While Alaude was still talking Luc took the rifle from his back and went towards a man pushing a luggage cart.

"Excuse me may I make use of this for a second." He wondered and easily climbed on top of the baggage and boxes that were piled on the cart while the man took a scared step back at the sight of the large rifle. Luc took a quick look around and then pointed in a certain direction.

"He's on his way to platform six." He said and Alaude nodded.

"Luc, please." He shouted before he took off in order to run into the direction Luc had pointed to.

Luc just nodded and firmly took the rifle, aiming at the man who was running through the station in order to get the train that would leave any minute.

"Sorry, lad, but I guess you'll miss this train." He mumbled, took a last breath and then pulled the trigger. With unbelievable accuracy the bullet flew through the station hall and hit the fleeing man in his left shoulder making him fall to the ground, screaming in pain.

"No need to exaggerate. The shot's not even deadly." The man said while getting of the luggage cart, strolling up the station in order to catch up with Alaude.

Meanwhile the blonde had caught up with his target, noticing that Monsieur Martineau was about to get up again. He was holding his wounded shoulder with the right hand, trying to stop the bleeding and yet he also still wanted to get the train. Therefore he even left his luggage behind, but he didn't get far after all, since Alaude knocked him over again. The man groaned when he went back to the floor.

Slowly he tried to turn around just to see the tall blonde standing over him, glancing at him with an icy cold view.

"Please, I haven't done anything wrong." The man coughed. "Just let me go."

He tried to get up once more, but in sheer anger Alaude leant towards the man, punching him straight into the face. Monsieur Martineau groaned in pain and tried to get out of reach, but he obviously was totally beaten. Out of breath he looked at his tantalizer again.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" He wondered, trying to remember the name of the man standing above him. He actually knew this face, the eyes and the expression.

"Monsieur Martineau you're accused for treason and for burdening Monsieur Hugo Louis Juste with the debt of your own crimes. You hereby are arrested. Please do not offer any more resistance or I will dare to make use of more violence in order to bring you to the police station. It will be up to the court how to deal with your crimes."

While Alaude was talking he tried to calm his own anger. He would have loved to make this man suffer so much more, but it sure was better to hand him over to the law. He'd surely be punished fair enough.

However while Alaude still tried to remain calm it suddenly seemed to dawn on the man on the floor. Once he heard the name he remembered everything.

"Hugo? Hugo Louis Juste? No, you are not him yourself, but you're his only son, Philipp. I can see the similarities besides the blue eyes and the blonde hair. I didn't know you still were in town." The man mumbled, looking at Alaude in shock. He wanted to continue his speech, but there was no chance since suddenly a fist hit him into the face once again and again and again.

Alaude was leaning over him, holding his collar and kept punching the man.

"Don't you dare to ever say his name again! You're not worthy, you bastard. You're just a pitiful traitor who paid with the life of a friend in order to keep himself safe. You're nothing!" He shouted and quickly pulled the pistol from a pocket, pressing the muzzle to the man's forehead. "I should just shoot you down here. That's what you've deserved for over fifteen years!"

Monsieur Martineau looked at Alaude in fear and pain. He wasn't able to say anything else. Not just because Alaude had broached his jawbone but also because the sight of the furious man above him. The cold blue eyes were glancing deadly and aggressively when he slowly laid his finger on the trigger.

A hand was placed carefully on Alaude's hand while another one gently touched his shoulder.

"Please, Alaude, calm yourself down. You really shouldn't do that. It's not like you and you really shouldn't get changed too much. Think about it." Luc's voice was soft and yet insisting. Very carefully he pushed the gun aside and then took it from Alaude's hand. The man obviously was listening to his partner, although he didn't move himself at all.

However Luc didn't stop but instead surely helped Alaude to get on his feet again. The blonde was now standing again, still looking at the man on the floor with pure hatred.

"Alaude, maybe you should leave for now. I will take care of him." Luc said, directly looking at Alaude waiting until the man finally lifted his blue eyes returning the view. Luc could see the insecurity in the other one's eyes and he gently increased the soft pressure on his shoulder.

"Philipp, I promise you everything will be fine. I'll take care of everything personally." He went on talking to the younger one who finally seemed to react when he noticed his real name. For a second the blue eyes were glancing in pain, but then he nodded and turned around without saying anything in order to leave the train station.

**_France – Paris – 21_****_st_****_ September 1879  
_**

_Monsieur Martineau's trial is finally over and he has been sentenced to death. Someone might say that this is a rather hard punishment for what he has done, but however I feel very relieved. I've kept thinking about what I should do next since somehow I felt as if I've finally reached my life's goal, but that is actually not true._

_A telegram from Vienna arrived, asking for my help with the case of the person named Daemon Spade and I realized that I still do have a goal and of course responsibility. It is my secret intelligence service that will need my full attention from now on and I think I am ready to handle it._

_I am sure that together with Luc's help we will be able to become even more better and powerful. We will take care of any case even or mostly from people of lower classes since they are the one's who need support in gaining justice._

_Everybody has the right of being treated well and rightfully and the secret service will take the task to watch over it._

_I'll give my whole life to that task._

_Alaude_

* * *

"So he only seems to be the puppet master?" Alaude wondered, reading through the profile and the information of the case case about this so called Daemon Spade. "And he's obviously using a pseudonym." He kept on checking through the datas his men had gained.

"Yes, but what is more strange is that he went to Italy a couple of month ago. More likely to a small village on Sicily, namely Trappeto." The other man explained to his boss. Alaude nodded slowly and took a look at a map.

"Why should he go there? There's not much at Sicily despite trouble with politics and power. Interfering there just means a lot of work." He wondered, marking the small village Trappeto with a pen. "You said Star is still over there?"

"Yes, but he's staying stand-by until he reaches further orders. I told him not to interfere with Spade. I thought you might like to check on this yourself." He responded, examining Alaude attentively. The boss normally liked to take action himself since he didn't want to put his members into unnecessary danger. He probably was the busiest man Dohle knew.

"That's good." Alaude said, straightening himself up. "Dohle, I'd like you to contact Star. Tell him to return to Vienna. I'll go to Italy instead. I'm very interested in this case and it seems like we shouldn't underestimate this Spade. After all he has interefered in quite a couple of political decisions. According to the information you gathered he's a professional and I'd like to form my own view on it."

The other man nodded.

"Do you want me to organize a train ride to Venice? From there on you might be able to take a ship to Palermo. It should be the fastest way to travel." He suggested, showing the route on the map.

"Yes, please. I'll make use of the time and get my luggage ready. If possible I can already leave in the evening. And there's no need for you to contact Monsieur Barre about my travel. I'll do it myself."

Dohle nodded and finally left the room in order to contact his comrade and to organize the travel for his boss. Meanwhile Alaude kept looking at the documents that were spread across the whole table. Somehow he had a strange feeling about this man and about his upcoming travel again as if this would mark a huge turn in his life. If he had known how right he actually was about this feeling he would have probably put mor trust into his emotions for at least once in his lifetime. But like that he just shoved off this awkward feeling. He had to stay focused and with emotions like that in his mind he wouldn't be able to. It was all just a matter of organization and safety. Just as always.

**_Italy – Trappeto – 30_****_th_****_ January 1880  
_**

_I've already spent a about two month on Sicily now and it is still difficult to understand the whole situation. It seems like Daemon Spade has become part of some sort of organization. He himself is obviously in a higher position, but he is not the leader of this group. Actually the leader appears to be the man I would have guessed last. He's rather small and doesn't look Italian at all more like Swedish or Finnish._

_But I already noticed that this man cannot be judged by his appearance. I've observed him and his closest members for quite a while now and it seems like they're almost worshipping him. But it's not just those six people who are always following him around like puppies it's the whole village and even the villages around. They seem to love him and his grouping which seems to be rather something like a vigilante group than some sort of criminal organization._

_I also realized that I actually know one of this Vongola Primo's closest men. He is the young boxer I got to now in London back in 1869. I think his name was Knuckle. However he know doesn't look like a boxer any more but more like a priest. I wonder what has happened to him and I hope he won't recognize me as I noticed I actually know him._

_First I wondered why he had chosen to be with such a group and it was also hard for me to understand why this man called Daemon Spade had chosen to be part of it. Besides Knuckle he didn't seem to be the one caring for the sake of other people, but I've started to realize the reason why they both joined this organization._

_It's him. The leader of this strange group. They call him Vongola Primo. Vongola the First. Judging by the name he obviously founded the organization and my further investigation actually proofed this assumption. People are talking about him as if he was a martyr. Strange enough that he doesn't make use of this at all. He almost seems as if he doesn't realize the feelings people have for him. Or as if he doesn't care. He's friendly and obliging but he's surely not taking advantage of his position. Something I've never noticed about a leader before._

_Last week there were riots in a village nearby and without any hesitation he has sent two of his closest men in order to take care of everything. Two against a full group. But they succeeded and now I am starting to wonder whether these people maybe have supernatural skills. I've also heard rumours about that, again mainly about this Vongola Primo and his skills. He seems to carry some sort of extraordinary power. People say that it has something to do with his eyes which have a rather strange colour too. I've seen people with black eyes and with golden brown eyes. I've also already seen someone with bi-coloured eyes, but I've never seen a man with orange eyes._

_Everything I've found out about the organization and of course about him are making me wonder what actually is going on here. I guess I will have to stay for a little while longer. This is not about Daemon Spade and his political interferences any longer. I have found something that is way more interesting than that._

_Vongola Primo, an individual I've never seen before, I would like to get to know him better and I'm quite certain that I'll be successful. I've already found out more about him than any single person in his village actually does know about him, but there are still a million unanswered questions left. Though I am certain that I will be able to answer these one day._

_This case has suddenly started to become the most interesting I've been working on so far._

_Alaude_


	6. The Aloof Cloud

**So here it is my last chapter and the epilogue of Alaude's story.**

**Hope you liked it and hope you enjoyed it~**

**I really tried to include everything we actually know about Alaude and the part he was playing as the First Cloud Guardian.**

**If you're interested in the Prima Famiglia I'd like to recommend the story of a friend of mine: SkylarkPrincess18**

**Take care everyone~**

* * *

**The Aloof Cloud**

The blonde French was sitting in a café on the market place of the small village. In front of him on the small table there was an almost empty cup of coffee and it looked like he was reading a newspaper. Though actually he rather used the newspaper as a cover in order to keep examining the small group of men on the other side of the market place. It was Vongola Primo and two of his so called guardians. It seemed as if he had gone through the village in order to check on the people. He did this every first Sunday a month. It seemed as if he liked the people from here pretty much. At least he never visited the other villages more often than Trappeto. Additionally the red headed man accompanied him most of the times so it was obvious that he probably was closer to Vongola Primo than the other guardians. Maybe he was his deputy.

When the three men turned around Alaude changed his view to the newspaper, pretending to be a man that was eagerly looking for news and information. He waited for a few more minutes in order to give the three men enough time to leave the market place. He wouldn't follow them around, not for today, since he had gained enough information for now. He didn't want to give them the feeling of being observed.

He just turned to the next page when noticed a gentle voice.

"Is this seat taken?"

Alaude slowly looked up directly into these fascinating orange eyes, but he didn't show any surprise although he realized at this very moment that his cover had been blown. He just nodded and pointed at the free chair without saying anything. But although he was rather cold there was a gentle smile on Vongola Primo's lips when he sat down face to face with him.

"How may I help you?" He finally asked in perfect Italian, making the other one blink in surprise.

"Well, I think you might be able to answer the question yourself." Vongola Primo answered still smiling. "You've spent quite some time now in Trappeto."

Although Alaude didn't show it he was truly surprised. He had been really careful with his investigations and yet this man seemed to have noticed him already that early.

"I can't see how this is of your concern." He returned coldly, glaring at the blonde.

However not even that reaction seemed to impress the young man since he just kept smiling.

"Of course, please excuse my rudeness. I'll invite you for another coffee as an apology." Primo said, waving at the waiter who quickly came closer. "How would you like your coffee?"

Alaude couldn't believe how this so called Vongola Primo dared to treat him. He didn't even ask whether he wanted his company, he just took it for granted. However since the French didn't answer the question the Italian just turned towards the waiter again.

"Well, then I'll have a coffee with milk and sugar, please and maybe you could bring my friend what he just had before I came along. Thank you very much." The waiter nodded and turned around in order to get the coffees for them while Alaude still glared at Vongola Primo as if he was just about to kill him.

Of course Alaude didn't seek for a fight in publicity and it also was not his intention at all to hurt this stranger although he had to admit that the thought of checking the man's true strength was quite tempting. Yet he was way too interested into the man himself than just into his strength. Although he of course would be ready to defend himself if necessary and so he kept watching his opponent warily who was yet still smiling.

"There's no need to be suspicious." He said. "I just wish to talk to you and you've got my word that I am alone. I've got no intention in fighting right now."

Strange enough there was something about this man that made Alaude believe his words without any doubt. However on the other hand it was this strange feeling that made Alaude even more suspicious. He had never trusted someone just like this, not even Luc, and yet there was this man sitting in front of him, promising his safety and he just believed it. Alaude lightly shook his head as if he wanted to chase away a fly. He had to be really careful about this man.

Once his emotions and feeling were under control again he faced his opponent once more while the waiter already brought their coffees.

"I'm not that fond of talking." Alaude finally said with a lackadaisical voice. "If there's something you want, make it quick." Although Alaude really didn't show any interest from the outside he actually couldn't hide the truth on the inside. There of course was much interest for Vongola Primo and his organization, but he surely didn't want to show it to this person. It would only make him look weak.

"I believe you're not fond of talking, but I'm sure you're interested in my words." Primo answered softly, making Alaude hesitate for a second. The way that man actually said this almost made him believe that he had realized Alaude's interest. But how was this possible? He was very good at hiding emotions, not even Luc was always able to tell what he was actually feeling, but it seemed as if this Vongola Primo didn't have any problem with it all. Was this the strange power people were talking about?

"One does not exclude the other." he simply responded, remaining calm about the situation. For a second Primo seemed to be rather impressed by these words, but the expression of the rare orange eyes quickly changed, showing off calmness and gentleness again. They really were catchy these eyes.

"You see, I noticed you were observing my guardians and me for quite a while now. First I was alarmed, because not many people are fond of what we're doing, but then I noticed that your intention is not that bad. However now I am wondering what you're actually looking for. Why should someone like you be interested in the Vongola?"

Alaude felt caught. It was almost scary how precise Primo's thoughts about his intentions were. He never had wanted to harm someone from the group, what he just had been after were information about this strange organization. There really was something different about him. It was as if he was able to look directly into Alaude's heart and into his thoughts. The French felt glassy at the sight of this mysterious man, but he was also given a buzz. This man was not only different, he was unique.

"I won't answer this question." Alaude simply responded, still showing a rather careless attitude although he was actually hungry for more information.

"I see." Primo said and for a second Alaude thought he had finally gotten the upper hand, but when the Italian went on he didn't seem to be disappointed at all. "I won't force you to tell me anything. However if you really are that interested in the Vongola, why don't you join us?"

For a second Alaude lost his balance because of this question. This man had just simply invited him into his group without even knowing him. That was not only reckless but also incomprehensible.

"Tell me why should I join your group? Even if I was interested, the information wouldn't be essential for me."

"So this is a personal interest?"

"Maybe? I can't see why I should tell you about my personal or business interests." Alaude looked at Primo attentively. "Besides why would you want me to join just like that? You do not know me and I doubt that you're just granting access to anyone. What is it you're after?"

The blonde Italian lowly sighed, but still smiled.

"Of course there's no chance to fool you. I'll be honest. I need support. The Vongola's still insecure and brittle. I need helping hands."

"So you want me to work for you?"

"Something like that? Please, don't get me wrong, but I early realized that you're a strong and intelligent person. I could really need someone like you."

Alaude hesitated for a second. There was no chance he'd be working for anybody else even if he hadn't his own secret intelligence service, and yet this offer was somehow tempting. Not because he would have loved to work at a vigilante group, but more likely because of the man sitting in front of him. There was something about him that actually made Alaude think about the offer.

"I do not work for anyone else." He finally returned, glancing at the blonde.

"I already feared for that answer. Is there any chance to change your mind?" Primo wondered. It was almost impressing how much he tried to convince the French. It was almost tempting.

"There is no chance I will just work for anyone else but me. Besides I do not have the time anyway."

"What about working part-time then?" Primo kept on bothering the taller man.

"Part-time?"

"Yes, you will just have to help out when you want to. In return you'll be able to find out more about the Vongola. Shouldn't that be fair enough?"

"Well, there's still the problem that I am not working for just anyone." Alaude's eyes were cold. Even if he was interested in this strange organization he wouldn't just assign to anyone. Even if it was a man as interesting as this Vongola Primo. Somehow the man actually seemed to be really disappointed until his face suddenly brightened up again.

"What if I proof you my strength?"

Alaude lifted an eyebrow, examining the other one warily.

"You mean you want to fight me?"

"If it might change you opinion, yes."

Alaude got silent for a minute. This was now actually really tempting. He had heard rumours about Vongola Primo's strength. Some people even seemed to be scared by it. Alaude knew it was reckless and light-headed, but he couldn't resist the offer.

"Sounds fair enough to me."

"So you will fight me? And if I win you will join the Vongola?"

"Only at times I wish to join it."

"I am fine with that." Primo returned with a soft smile and a gentle look in his eyes. "Let's call it a deal."

**_Italy – Trappeto – 4_****_th_****_ March 1880  
_**

_In the end I lost the battle, but somehow this didn't disappoint me it actually just amazed me even more. This man didn't have any trouble in fighting me and actually he had stayed passive most of the time. And yet I hadn't been able to defeat him._

_Of course I kept my promise. From now on I will grant Vongola Primo my support at times I wish to join his group. Mainly I will still keep working at my secret intelligence service. However I've decided to stay in Italy for the time being. Sicily is actually a nice place as Vongola Primo's mansion is too. Additionally there's nothing that would keep me in Paris. Maybe it's a good idea to stay off it for the time being anyway._

_After the battle we were actually talking for another long time. He entrusted me with a strange ring which is shaped like their emblem. He told me that it will awaken my real powers and that it will make me much stronger. He also told me something about Flames. It seems as if there seven different types: sky, sun, storm, rain, lightning, mist and cloud._

_According to Primo the cloud flame is burning strong inside me. Therefore he gave me the ring of the Cloud Guardian. It seems like he had actually really waited for someone like me since all the other guardians already have their rings. This is the last one he has._

_I still do not quite understand the power that should be awakened by the ring but I'll sure take the time to learn how to make use of it. Since the other guardians are able to use it as well it shouldn't be much of a problem for myself._

_I already got to know them all and I'll be honest I do not like any of them. The two I am actually most fond f are Knuckle, who I already know, and the Japanese man by the name Asari Ugetsu. He seems to be an interesting man or at least I am interested in his origin._

_However the three other men are more of a nuisance. I do not understand why Vongola Primo has chosen people like them to be part of his vigilante group. Well the redhead seems to be by his side any time and I guess they know each other for a long time now, but the green headed boy is rather useless. He's not working and always complaining. Just the sort of people I dislike._

_Though I have to admit there is no one like Daemon Spade. I truly detest him and his attitude. He's arrogant and malicious. I do not understand why Vongola Primo has actually chosen him. But since I won't have to work directly with these people I do not care for their presence. I already made clear to Primo that I will always be working alone and he accepted my request._

_Yet I do not understand how someone can actually work together with so many different people with different origin and different views. It must be difficult for Primo to keep them all together._

_This only emphasizes that he really is a fascinating man. I'm already eager to see how he is working._

_Alaude_

* * *

It was a very important meeting and so Alaude went there personally. In the beginning he had visited every meeting, but he had soon realized that most things didn't really concern him in the first place. So now he just went there if there was something important to discuss. Nevertheless he of course always knew what had been going on during the meeting. He probably was one of the best informed at the Vongola.

However he still hadn't been part of a mission yet since most of them hadn't really mattered to him or he had been another opinion as Primo. This man was really trying to help everyone even if it wasn't really necessary in Alaude's eyes. He of course had an interesting view on justice, but it wasn't the same Alaude had and so he never had volunteered for one of the missions.

Though today the discussion had already started with interesting facts. A cry for help had arrived from a small town south of Trappeto or more likely it was a cry for help from an orphanage there. There was a well-organized street gang up to mischief and it seemed as if they were blackmailing the orphanage in order to gain more members and there were rumours they also sold some of the poor kids as cheap workers. Well in fact they were just taking them by force. Of course it was logical since it was easy to train young naïve children. They took them from the orphanage and just started to form them after their needs. And the children weren't able defend themselves at all.

Like that this gang was creating a loyal and dangerous army and Primo sure was right to think about stopping them from going on. First it would be much more difficult to fight a larger group and second it was just not acceptable how they treated the orphans from the town.

"But this town is not yet under our protection, is it?" Spade wondered after G had given them all the information they had received. "If we free the town from this group the village will also need our support and protection in the future. Are you sure you want to enlarge the Vongola's territory right now? There are still fights and troubles in other areas which also need our attention."

"Yes, I know." Primo nodded, but he didn't seem to be pleased. "But we still have to think for the future. Anyway I know that many of you are already busy. That is why I will not force anyone to take the mission. It's voluntarily."

Some silent discussions went through the guardians while Alaude kept silent, thinking about the information he had. It actually wasn't much since they did not even know any details about the exact number of members of the group and yet the cry for help also kept bothering him. It was the whole situation and the knowledge of innocent children being involved that made him feel anxious about the whole thing.

He lifted his eyes and directly looked at Primo who was actually just returning the view. Maybe it was just Alaude's imagination but there was something hopeful in the orange eyes and suddenly it wasn't that difficult for him to make a decision.

"I will go." Alaude simply said, taking a last little note and then piling the papers in front of him, ready to leave the meeting room.

The others fell silent once he had talked, looking at him in little surprise. So far this strange French hadn't said much at the table and he had never taken a mission just like that. Why would he now change his mind?

It was rather very simple, but since no one in the room knew Alaude's background story none of them knew that he once had spent some time at a orphanage as well. Somehow he had grown some affection to orphans since then and so this somehow was a personal interest.

The only one not being surprised at all was Primo himself. He just nodded and gave Alaude a little smile.

"Thank you, Alaude." He said, still looking directly into the icy blue eyes. "In that case that's all for today. We will meet up tomorrow morning in order to discuss the remaining problems."

It was already dawning when the large group of nine men slowly walked through the dusty streets of the small town. They were aiming for the orphanage down the street. Although they had been there a couple of times now there still were some older boys left who would make good fighters and if not they could still sell them to someone else. So either way it would be a profitable deal.

All of them carried some sort of weapon with them. Two of them had guns while two more had shouldered large rifles. The last five men had sharp knives with them. More than enough to scare the women at the orphanage to death, not even speaking of the kids, that always started to cry, once they showed up.

However once they came closer to the tall rundown building they noticed a single man standing on the street right in front of it. At some of the windows they could see kids faces, watching the street in fear.

One of them carrying a gun lifted his hand and the other men stopped. Obviously he was the boss of the gang.

"Hey, who the hell are you? Get out of my way, nag." He grunted, slowly coming a bit closer and pointing the gun at the tall blonde who didn't even blink at these words. "Hey, didn't you hear me? Move you scum!"

Finally the blonde moved a little bit. But however he just lifted his head and gave the other one a deadly glare.

"Hereby I declare this town as property of the Vongola Famiglia. It will be under the special and personal protection of Vongola Primo himself. I, as his Cloud Guardian and representative, demand you to leave the place immediately. Otherwise I will make use of any force necessary in order to make you subordinate to the will and power of the Vongola Famiglia." He finally said with a really clear and secure voice.

The man with the gun just snorted and spit on the ground right in front of Alaude.

"Vongola Famiglia you say? I've heard of you guys. This Primo guy really thinks he can take all Sicily, doesn't he? Well, maybe it's time to show him that he can't. We'll send him you as a message. Of course not as healthy as you're right now. No one just takes our territory like that."

A light clicking noise could be heard when the man unlocked the gun, still pointing at Alaude with it. However the tall blonde still didn't move an inch and he also didn't seem to worry about the threat he had just got.

"I'll only say it once more. This are is now under the personal protection of Vongola Primo. I will not hesitate to act on his behalf." The French repeated without showing any fear at all.

"Bastard, you're just a nuisance. Just get lost." He ranted and pulled the trigger.

However at the same time the blonde French did his move as well. It started with a little flame which started to burn from the large ring he was wearing on his right hand. The flame was purple and it didn't hurt him at all but instead it made him much more powerful.

He had tested it many times before he had been able to make good use of this new power, but by now he was certain that he would be able to master it just perfectly fine. He could feel the energy floating through every single muscle. He could feel the power filling his whole body. And he could feel the strength which was burning like a flame.

He just couldn't keep the power inside himself any longer and so he let it out, making the purple flame at the ring shining more brightly and becoming even larger until it covered the whole man. The ground beneath him broke and dust swirled through the air before he pulled his rod which also was covered by the purple flames at the very moment he touched it.

He just spun it around, not only elegantly but also extremely quick and without any trouble he hit the flying bullet, making it return towards the man who had sent it flying. The gangster didn't even notice this when he already felt the pain in his right shoulder. He jumped back, howling like a beaten wolf. However his comrades reacted quickly and instead pushed forward. The ones carrying the knives quickly pulled those from their belts and charged their enemy directly.

However Alaude didn't hesitate for a second and instead took his handcuffs which were also covered by the purple flames that were coming from the strange ring on his finger.

"Time to find out, what I am really able to do with that thing."

He tightened the grip on his handcuffs and then swirled them towards the coming men. The small chain quickly suspended until it almost was like a long purple burning rope. He spun it around and then let it flew forward, throwing the attackers off their feet. However the metal chain didn't stop at the offensives and instead flew towards the other three men who were pointing their shooting weapons at the French.

The end of the handcuffs, which was flying towards the opponents, flung open and closed around the wrist of the man standing on the left. He blinked in surprise and just lowered his eyes at the metal when he already was pulled off to the right. He was thrown against his comrades making them fall before they were even able to fire off their weapons.

Then he was pulled through the air and suddenly straight down to the ground where he was crushed into the dirty road. Immediately his wrist was released from the handcuffs again, but he surely wouldn't be able to fight any longer any way.

Meanwhile the others got up again, still not even sure about what just had happened to them. But they had absolutely no time to think since the tall blond was already in the midst of them. His blue eyes were burning ice-cold while his handcuffs were still covered in purple flames.

The man didn't hesitate a second, but again spun the chain around once more, making his enemies fly to the ground again. Then his handcuffs suddenly multiplied, giving him even more possibilities to fight. He flung them towards the two remaining shooters, making the metal closer around their wrists and pulling them off their feet. As they reached the highest point in the air he pulled at the metal, making the two men crush into each other. Unconscious they fell back on the ground, not being able to fight any longer.

The group leader, who had finally recovered from the shock being hit by his own bullet, slowly got up again and looked around rather puzzled. His men were strong. And yet they had been defeated in no time.

A shadow fell upon him and he lifted his eyes, directly looking at the icy blue ones of his opponent. In his hand the man still carried the handcuffs, but the scary purple glow had vanished.

"This is your last chance." He spoke up with a harsh voice. "I'll ask you one more time to leave this area which now belongs to the Vongola Famiglia. Additionally you shall return the children you've already taken from the orphanage. You will have one week. If you will not follow these orders I'll crush you and your followers in the name of Vongola. Be grateful for the kindness that is bestowed upon you."

The beaten man just nodded his head. He of course had realized by now that he and his men wouldn't stand a chance against this man of the Vongola Famiglia. It really seemed like the stories were true. No one could beat Vongola Primo and his people. They truly had supernatural powers.

Alaude on the other hand just turned around and walked towards the orphanage without throwing back another view at the gangsters. Normally he had at least brought these criminals to the judge, but this time that wasn't part of his mission. He only had had to stop this small group and since he still didn't see himself in the position of deciding over life and death he would rather make sure these men would never terrorize the town and mainly the orphanage again. They probably had learnt their lesson anyway and he had finished his mission. It was now time to report to Primo.

**_Italy – Trappeto – 12_****_th_****_ May 1880_**

_I've just returned from my first mission for Vongola Primo and it sure has been a success, but nevertheless I won't joy these people all the time. After all taking care of this was more of a personal reason anyway._

_Yet, I have to admit that the power Vongola Primo has granted me surely is amazing. I would have never thought of being able to do things like that. Nevertheless I won't misapply this strength. Things like that have to be used carefully or they will lead to something bad._

_Additionally I should be careful in general. This organization truly doesn't seem to be something illegal nor does it follow any criminal intentions, but nonetheless it seems to attract a lot of problems and dangers._

_So I will keep my eyes on it and I will take care of anything that fits my matters while I'll keep working on my secret intelligent service in general. Maybe it will grant me an advantage to cooperate with this organization of Vongola Primo aswell._

_Additionally it might not be the worst to stay here in Sicily. It's probably not the best in the matter of travelling to the other headquarters of my secret intelligent service, but it is one of less not biased places to me and there is debt I have to pay Vongola Primo._

_After all I'm not the one breaking a word which was once given._

_Alaude_


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The blonde haired man was still sitting at his desk in the Vongola mansion in Trappeto. However he was not working any longer but instead writing into a small book which was bound with a cover of fine black leather.

Once he was finished he closed the small booklet, got up and went over to one of his bookshelves. By moving aside some of the books a small safe was revealed which the man opened by moving the small wheel until a silent sound could be heard. Then he took a small key which he put inside a whole next to the wheel in order to open the safe. Inside there were a couple of other small notebooks bounded in black leather.

Alaude put the one he had been writing in on top of the others. Since he had started writing diary when he was a child he had been keeping up this little work. However he had never taken another look inside the older books again and yet he knew exactly about their contents. It had just grown a habit to write into his book every evening or at least two or three times a week.

With a last view on the books he closed the safe again. This was just for safety since there were entries including memories and experiences which weren't meant for other eyes than his.

Once the safe was closed and hidden by the books again Alaude turned around and extinguished the flame of the candle on his desk. It was finally time to go to bed.

**_Italy – Trappeto – 28_****_th_****_ August 1880  
_**

_It has been five month now that I have joined the Vongola and I've only been on three missions so far. Yet I think that's rather fair when thinking about the deal I've made with Vongola Primo._

_However I'm very curious about the upcoming development of this organization. It seems as if Vongola Primo is trying to built something really impressing and as long as this is going on I'll be glad to follow these changes._

_Of course Luc was wondering about my whereabouts and when I'm told him more, he surely was eager to get know why I wanted t stay in Sicily. Yet I have decided not to tell him the truth. It should be enough me being part of this organization and whatever will happen in the future I don't intend to include Luc in these happenings. It's enough that he's already working so much for the secret intelligence service._

_I already realized that all of this means much more work for myself, but I actually enjoy it. It keeps my mind busy._

_I guess I was really wrong when worrying about my future plans once I'd capture my father's traitor, because there always something to do. I'm really looking forward to the new developments and I'll be fine with playing my part in this story for another while._

_Alaude_


End file.
